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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: suit · foot · prune · land · arm · spell · tear · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. prune — to trim
  3. suit — to fit
  4. land — to come down
  5. spell — magic
  6. land — ground
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. suit — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spell — letters
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. tear — to rip
  17. drill — the tool
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. suit — clothes
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. foot — a measure
  23. drill — army training
  24. land — a country

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