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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fall — to drop
  4. drill — army training
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. spring — the season
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. drill — the tool
  15. deal — to handle
  16. file — a document
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spring — of water

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