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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: toast · spring · perch · drill · firm · date · prune · field

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. prune — to trim
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. drill — a practice
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. drill — army training
  7. field — farmland
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. drill — the tool
  13. firm — decided
  14. prune — to trim
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. firm — steady
  18. date — the fruit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spring — of water
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spring — the season
  24. firm — a company

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