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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. swing — in golf
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — to cut
  5. spring — of water
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. craft — a skill
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mark — a trace
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mark — a grade
  14. drill — army training
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. craft — boats
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. swing — to play on
  23. drill — the tool
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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