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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: drill · wound · arm · last · tube · roll · prune · capital

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — a practice
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. drill — army training
  6. last — finally
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — to go on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. roll — a cake
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tube — the underground
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. last — final
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. capital — money
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. roll — a list
  21. capital — a city
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. drill — the tool
  24. tube — a container

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