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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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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: chip · temple · wound · prune · hand · drill · saw · rush

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. rush — hurry
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chip — to eat
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. hand — in cards
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. hand — help
  24. wound — an injury

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