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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: drill · present · spring · pop · kid · suit · field · saw

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. spring — the season
  4. present — there
  5. field — a subject
  6. saw — the tool
  7. spring — a coil
  8. suit — to fit
  9. saw — the tool
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pop — music
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pop — to visit
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spring — of water
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. suit — in cards
  19. drill — army training
  20. suit — clothes
  21. present — a gift
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. present — the time now

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