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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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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: wind · swing · prune · wake · spring · mine · drill · squash

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — to crush
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. prune — to trim
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mine — for digging
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wake — a trail
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — the sport
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. spring — a coil

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