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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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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: bore · kid · coach · prune · face · drill · swing · club

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. club — for golf
  3. swing — in golf
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. club — a group
  7. face — to point toward
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bore — to drill
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bore — to tire
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kid — child
  15. swing — music
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. face — to confront
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. kid — to tease
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — a practice
  22. face — part of the head
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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