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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: pop · dip · wound · branch · drill · cold · ball · prune

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. drill — the tool
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pop — to visit
  8. ball — a great time
  9. branch — a division
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — a practice
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — an illness
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. drill — army training
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pop — music
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. pop — soda

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