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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · bat · object · pit · game · ground · drill · straw

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — to protest
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. ground — a position
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. drill — army training
  11. object — a thing
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pit — in a race
  15. game — a match
  16. ground — the earth
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. game — wild animals
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pit — a hole
  23. bat — the animal
  24. drill — a practice

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