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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: bowl · mate · pop · prune · drill · snap · roll · straw

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — the tool
  7. snap — to click
  8. drill — army training
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. mate — a friend
  14. prune — to trim
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. mate — to breed
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. pop — soda
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pop — to visit

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