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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 124 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.

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

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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: snap · chair · race · prune · drill · bowl

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. race — a contest
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. prune — to trim
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. drill — a practice
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. race — humankind
  13. snap — to click
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. prune — to trim
  17. race — the arms race
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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