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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: stick · spring · wake · stand · fork · prune · drill · pound

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. spring — of water
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. prune — to trim
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pound — a weight
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fork — in a road
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. drill — a practice
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. drill — army training
  24. spring — the season

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