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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. stock — shares
  5. drill — army training
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. deal — to handle
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. spring — a coil
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — for paper
  15. file — a line of people
  16. stock — goods
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. clip — a video
  20. drill — a practice
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. net — in sport
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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