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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: prune · bulb · drill · row · spring · land · nail · dip

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. spring — the season
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spring — a coil
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — army training
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bulb — for light
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. row — to paddle
  17. land — a country
  18. drill — a practice
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spring — of water
  23. row — a line
  24. dip — to sink

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