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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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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 · craft · pop · rule · bore · drill · spring · land

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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. rule — government
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. land — ground
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. craft — a skill
  9. rule — a law
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pop — music
  15. land — to come down
  16. spring — a coil
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spring — of water
  20. pop — soda
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. spring — the season
  23. land — a country
  24. craft — boats

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