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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. spring — of water
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bound — obliged
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. track — a path
  10. bound — certain
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. kid — to tease
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. kid — child
  16. dip — to sink
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. track — a song
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — a 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