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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 116 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: field · prune · drill · wake · sharp · bound · plane · object

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. drill — a practice
  4. object — to protest
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. field — farmland
  9. wake — a trail
  10. object — a thing
  11. drill — army training
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bound — tied together
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. field — a subject
  20. plane — a tool
  21. object — an aim
  22. bound — certain
  23. field — for sport
  24. plane — an aircraft

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