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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 · drill · trunk · bulb · mine · field · kick · pitcher

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. kick — in football
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. drill — army training
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. drill — a practice
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — a subject
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — farmland
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. mine — for digging
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bulb — of a plant

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