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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spring — a coil
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. game — wild animals
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. craft — boats
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to tire
  15. drill — army training
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bore — to drill
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. drill — the tool
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. calf — a young animal

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