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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: plane · bore · hand · ground · drill · prune · field · bear

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. ground — the earth
  3. hand — in cards
  4. drill — army training
  5. field — a subject
  6. ground — crushed
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. ground — a position
  9. bore — to drill
  10. field — for sport
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. drill — a practice
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — help
  21. field — farmland
  22. bear — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  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