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

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bank — of a river
  3. spring — the season
  4. hand — help
  5. spring — of water
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. face — to confront
  13. ball — a dance
  14. bank — for money
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wake — a trail
  18. drill — army training
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bank — for money
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. drill — a practice

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