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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.

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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: prune · pop · ground · dip · spring · drill

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. spring — the season
  3. prune — to trim
  4. spring — a coil
  5. ground — a position
  6. pop — to visit
  7. ground — the earth
  8. dip — to sink
  9. ground — crushed
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. drill — a practice
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spring — of water
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. dip — to dunk

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