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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: content · drill · season · stem · prune · field · bank · file

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bank — of a river
  4. stem — to come from
  5. drill — a practice
  6. season — of the year
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — the amount
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. content — happy
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. file — a tool
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bank — for money
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. drill — the tool
  20. season — in sport
  21. bank — for money
  22. field — farmland
  23. file — a document
  24. content — videos and posts

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