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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 116 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: ground · prune · wake · drill · pit · mine · stem · kid

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. drill — a practice
  3. kid — child
  4. pit — in a race
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. ground — a position
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. drill — the tool
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wake — a trail
  21. drill — army training
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stem — to come from
  24. pit — a hole

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