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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. drill — the tool
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. stem — to come from
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. roll — a list
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. spring — the season
  10. row — a line
  11. roll — a cake
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. drill — army training
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. spring — a coil
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mine — for digging
  22. row — to paddle
  23. drill — a practice
  24. row — a quarrel

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