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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: drill · ground · race · pop · row · prune · fork · board

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pop — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pop — to visit
  6. fork — in a road
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. row — to paddle
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. race — the arms race
  14. race — a contest
  15. prune — to trim
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. row — a line
  19. drill — the tool
  20. race — humankind
  21. ground — a position
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ground — crushed

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