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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: drill · prune · field · cabinet · game · rash · rush · stick

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rush — hurry
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. field — a subject
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. field — farmland
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. drill — the tool
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. field — for sport
  18. rash — a series
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. rash — hasty
  21. game — a match
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. prune — to trim
  24. drill — army training

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