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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.

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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: kick · drill · arm · bore · prune · court · wave · band

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. court — of a king
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. kick — in football
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bore — to drill
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. drill — a practice
  21. court — of law
  22. drill — army training
  23. bore — to tire
  24. arm — a part of something

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