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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: spring · kid · ruler · drill · club · safe · bear · prune

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. club — for golf
  3. spring — of water
  4. prune — to trim
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. club — a group
  11. spring — a coil
  12. drill — army training
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. club — for dancing
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bear — the animal
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. drill — a practice
  21. spring — the season
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. kid — to tease
  24. drill — the tool

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