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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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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: drill · hide · prune · bowl · rest · ground · wound · stand

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. drill — army training
  9. stand — to bear
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. drill — a practice
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. drill — the tool
  18. prune — to trim
  19. ground — a position
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. rest — a break
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stand — for spectators

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