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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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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: deal · drill · fall · mine · prune · last · coach · pound

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. drill — the tool
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fall — to drop
  7. last — to go on
  8. mine — for digging
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pound — a weight
  11. prune — to trim
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. drill — a practice
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. last — final
  17. deal — to handle
  18. fall — to drop
  19. last — finally
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. fall — the season
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. drill — army training
  24. pound — to hit hard

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