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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: shower · prune · field · drill · hide · present · degree · mine

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — a practice
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. drill — the tool
  5. degree — from a university
  6. shower — rain
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — for sport
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. present — a gift
  12. degree — temperature
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. present — the time now
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. shower — to wash
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. present — there
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. degree — an amount

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