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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · spring · key · race · trunk · bat

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. drill — a practice
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. key — in music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. race — the arms race
  8. key — the most important part
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. drill — the tool
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. key — for a lock
  15. drill — army training
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — the animal
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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