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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: drill · file · trunk · prune · roll · shower · land · chip

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. land — to come down
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chip — for betting
  8. land — ground
  9. prune — to trim
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. shower — rain
  12. file — a line of people
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. shower — to wash
  18. file — a document
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. file — a tool
  21. roll — a cake
  22. land — a country
  23. prune — to trim
  24. roll — a list

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