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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. root — of a word
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. root — of a plant
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — the tool
  19. swing — to play on
  20. spell — magic
  21. root — the cause
  22. spring — of water
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. spring — a coil

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