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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. plane — a tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — army training
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stock — shares
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — the season
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spring — of water
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. stock — goods
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. swing — in golf
  20. date — the fruit
  21. swing — music
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. spring — a coil
  24. drill — the 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