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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: deal · prune · pop · drill · net · present · mine · land

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. land — to come down
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pop — to visit
  6. present — a gift
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — a practice
  10. net — in sport
  11. land — a country
  12. pop — music
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — soda
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mine — for digging
  18. net — after costs
  19. present — the time now
  20. net — for catching
  21. drill — army training
  22. land — ground
  23. present — there
  24. prune — the fruit

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