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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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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 · prune · stick · tear · chest · field · current · shower

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tear — from crying
  3. drill — a practice
  4. field — farmland
  5. drill — army training
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — for sport
  8. current — happening now
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. shower — to wash
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. current — electric
  16. shower — rain
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. current — of water
  24. tear — to rip

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