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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: squash · mine · drill · fan · deal · prune · arm · cell

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. deal — to handle
  3. drill — the tool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cell — in biology
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. drill — army training
  23. squash — to crush
  24. mine — for digging

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