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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. foot — a measure
  3. mate — to breed
  4. drill — a practice
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. cue — for pool
  7. swing — to play on
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. swing — music
  12. shower — rain
  13. content — the amount
  14. cue — a signal
  15. spring — the season
  16. swing — in golf
  17. spring — a coil
  18. content — happy
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. spring — of water
  22. cue — a hint
  23. drill — army training
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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