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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 · field · prune · tear · straw · lean · band · dip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. prune — to trim
  4. dip — to sink
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — army training
  7. band — a music group
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. band — a ring
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — for sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tear — to rip
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lean — thin
  21. tear — from crying
  22. drill — a practice
  23. field — farmland
  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