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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. staff — employees
  11. drill — army training
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. drill — a practice
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. staff — employees
  20. branch — a division
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a match
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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