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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: shower · stick · prune · drill · field · spell · cabinet · saw

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. drill — army training
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. field — farmland
  8. saw — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. prune — to trim
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spell — letters
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. shower — to wash
  22. field — a subject
  23. shower — rain
  24. cabinet — ministers

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