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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · drill · fan · dip · land · prune

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. present — a gift
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. land — a country
  7. drill — army training
  8. land — ground
  9. drill — the tool
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. prune — to trim
  14. present — there
  15. drill — a practice
  16. land — to come down
  17. present — the time now
  18. dip — to sink

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com