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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · spring · mug · pitcher · game · mine · drill · prune

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — a match
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mug — a face
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. drill — the tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. mug — a cup
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mine — for digging
  17. game — wild animals
  18. prune — to trim
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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