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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 120 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: mine · spring · prune · rash · wound · capital · drill · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. rash — a series
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — money
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chip — for betting
  8. spring — the season
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wound — an injury
  20. spring — of water
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rash — hasty

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