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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: drill · last · coach · fine · season · prune · track · bowl

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. track — to keep track
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. track — a song
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. last — final
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. fine — all right
  11. season — in sport
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. track — a path
  14. last — to go on
  15. drill — army training
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — the tool
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. last — finally
  24. drill — a practice

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