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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 · fine · hand · root · rush · bay · spring · last

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. last — to go on
  4. hand — help
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. fine — all right
  7. root — of a word
  8. spring — a coil
  9. root — of a plant
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spring — of water
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — the tool
  15. last — finally
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. drill — army training
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. last — final
  22. root — the cause
  23. fine — high quality
  24. rush — a thrill

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