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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: field · prune · kid · snap · ball · wake · drill · present

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ball — a dance
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. drill — the tool
  6. field — a subject
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. present — a gift
  10. drill — army training
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kid — to tease
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. ball — a great time
  15. kid — child
  16. field — for sport
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. snap — to click
  21. present — there
  22. drill — a practice
  23. present — the time now
  24. field — farmland

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