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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 120 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: tube · craft · rush · ball · file · last · drill · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tube — the underground
  3. drill — army training
  4. last — final
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. drill — a practice
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. craft — a skill
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. drill — the tool
  11. craft — boats
  12. last — finally
  13. file — a tool
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. last — to go on
  16. land — ground
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. file — a document
  19. tube — a container
  20. land — a country
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rush — hurry
  24. ball — a dance

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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