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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: spring · fork · prune · fine · ground · drill · bound · trunk

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bound — obliged
  3. drill — a practice
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fork — in a road
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. ground — a position
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bound — tied together
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fine — all right
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. bound — certain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. ground — the earth
  24. trunk — of a tree

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