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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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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: snap · nail · march · saw · drill · roll · prune · toast

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. drill — army training
  5. saw — the tool
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. march — the month
  9. toast — bread
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — a list
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — the tool
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — music
  20. prune — to trim
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. drill — a practice
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. march — the month

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