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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: prune · bay · wound · pitcher · kid · drill · squash · fine

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. drill — the tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. drill — army training
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fine — all right
  21. kid — child
  22. squash — to crush
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. prune — to trim

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