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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cap — of ice
  4. drill — army training
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. ball — a dance
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. spring — the season
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. land — a country
  15. cap — a lid
  16. drill — the tool
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. land — to come down
  19. squash — the sport
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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