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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · squash · chest · fan · prune · spring · ruler · root

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. squash — to crush
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. root — of a plant
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. root — the cause
  12. squash — the sport
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. root — of a word
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ruler — for measuring

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