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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 120 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: season · prune · plane · drill · bear · wound · march · bat

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bear — the animal
  3. season — of the year
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bear — the animal
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. march — the month
  12. plane — a tool
  13. season — in sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bat — the animal
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. march — music
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. plane — in geometry

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