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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 · ball · drill · mine · court · bound · foot · spring

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — tied together
  4. court — for sport
  5. bound — obliged
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. spring — a coil
  8. drill — army training
  9. court — of law
  10. ball — a great time
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — of a king
  13. ball — a dance
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — for digging
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. foot — a measure

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