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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: chip · wound · prune · pound · file · last · rule · drill

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pound — a weight
  7. last — final
  8. rule — government
  9. prune — to trim
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — finally
  16. drill — a practice
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. last — to go on
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. file — a tool
  22. chip — to eat
  23. drill — army training
  24. wound — an injury

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