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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: cold · bound · prune · charge · drill · pit · snap · trunk

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cold — not warm
  3. charge — in control
  4. drill — army training
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to click
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cold — an illness
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. charge — electricity
  15. prune — to trim
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bound — obliged
  19. charge — a price
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. drill — a practice
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bound — tied together

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