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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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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: prune · field · coach · hand · ball · drill

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a great time
  4. drill — a practice
  5. field — for sport
  6. drill — the tool
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. ball — a dance
  11. hand — in cards
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. ball — a round shape

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