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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.

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: stick · chest · drill · hide · prune · bound · squash · field

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. prune — to trim
  4. drill — army training
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bound — certain
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — a subject
  20. bound — obliged
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. field — for sport
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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