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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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468
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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spell — magic
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chest — a box
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. spring — the season
  7. drill — army training
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. drill — the tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. spring — of water
  14. spell — letters
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. drill — a practice
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — a garden tool

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