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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 116 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: spell · cell · cabinet · bore · prune · spring · current · drill

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. prune — to trim
  5. current — electric
  6. drill — army training
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. current — happening now
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. drill — the tool
  16. spring — of water
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cell — in biology
  21. current — of water
  22. bore — to tire
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spring — the season

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