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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spring — the season
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chest — of your body
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. drill — army training
  11. mark — a grade
  12. race — a contest
  13. track — a song
  14. spring — of water
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. ball — a dance
  19. spring — a coil
  20. track — to keep track
  21. track — a path
  22. race — humankind
  23. mark — a trace
  24. rush — hurry

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