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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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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 · field · band · present · stand · race · prune · nail

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. present — a gift
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — a practice
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. field — for sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. drill — army training
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. field — farmland
  17. present — the time now
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. present — there
  20. field — a subject
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — to bear
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. race — humankind

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