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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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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: bore · drill · row · field · prune · shower · bass · content

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. field — for sport
  3. bore — to drill
  4. field — a subject
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bore — to tire
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bass — low music
  9. content — the amount
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. row — a line
  13. content — happy
  14. drill — army training
  15. shower — rain
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. prune — to trim
  18. drill — a practice
  19. field — farmland
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bass — the fish
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. prune — to trim

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