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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.

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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. drill — army training
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chip — for betting
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. tube — a container
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cap — a hat
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chip — to eat
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. spring — the season
  18. bark — to shout
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cap — a lid
  21. drill — the tool
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. plane — in geometry

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