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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 120 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: bore · drill · prune · rule · coach · bulb · spring · degree

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. prune — to trim
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rule — government
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bulb — for light
  12. degree — an amount
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. drill — army training
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bulb — for light
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. drill — the tool

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