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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rash — a series
  5. field — a subject
  6. rash — hasty
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. drill — army training
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spring — of water
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — for sport
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a document
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. field — farmland

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