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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: roll · pop · kid · net · lean · prune · shower · drill

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. prune — to trim
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pop — music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. drill — army training
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. shower — rain
  15. lean — to bend
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. lean — thin
  19. kid — to tease
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. net — for catching
  22. shower — to wash
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. pop — to visit

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