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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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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: club · wind · drill · mine · prune · leaves · bore · swing

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. drill — a practice
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. drill — army training
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bore — to drill
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. swing — music
  18. drill — the tool
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. prune — to trim
  21. club — for golf
  22. bore — to tire
  23. club — a group
  24. leaves — to go away

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