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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: mark · drill · nail · firm · prune · staff · date · bat

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — a company
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. drill — the tool
  6. firm — steady
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. drill — army training
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mark — a grade
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. firm — decided
  16. staff — a stick
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bat — the animal
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. staff — employees
  24. bat — for baseball

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