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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 116 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 · field · scale · mate · drill · rule · current · clip

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. drill — a practice
  2. mate — a partner
  3. prune — to trim
  4. drill — army training
  5. current — happening now
  6. rule — government
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rule — a law
  9. field — for sport
  10. current — electric
  11. clip — to cut
  12. current — of water
  13. clip — for paper
  14. drill — the tool
  15. field — farmland
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. clip — a video
  18. scale — size or range
  19. field — a subject
  20. mate — to breed
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mate — a friend
  23. scale — in music
  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