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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. key — for a lock
  5. spring — of water
  6. branch — a division
  7. staff — a stick
  8. drill — a practice
  9. key — in music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. staff — employees
  15. face — to confront
  16. staff — employees
  17. key — the most important part
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. hand — in cards
  21. face — to point toward
  22. spring — the season
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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