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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: bat · row · rule · spring · present · date · kick · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. kick — in football
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. spring — a coil
  6. drill — the tool
  7. row — a line
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. present — the time now
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spring — of water
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. date — the fruit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. bat — the animal
  23. drill — army training
  24. spring — the season

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