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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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Word bank
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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. drill — the tool
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. drill — army training
  5. kid — to tease
  6. staff — employees
  7. spring — of water
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stock — goods
  11. drill — a practice
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — child
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. spring — the season
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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