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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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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: ground · drill · spring · coach · last · jam

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. drill — the tool
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — a position
  10. spring — the season
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. drill — a practice
  15. last — finally
  16. spring — of water
  17. drill — army training
  18. ground — the earth

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