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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: bark · safe · prune · spring · wake · court · wind · drill

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. drill — army training
  3. prune — to trim
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wake — a trail
  7. court — of law
  8. drill — a practice
  9. prune — to trim
  10. spring — the season
  11. court — of a king
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. court — for sport
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bark — to shout
  23. spring — a coil
  24. safe — a strongbox

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