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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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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: tear · drill · prune · spring · safe · club · field · calf

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. club — for dancing
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. drill — the tool
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. spring — of water
  9. club — a group
  10. field — farmland
  11. drill — army training
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. club — for golf
  15. spring — a coil
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. drill — a practice
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — the season
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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