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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: land · bass · drill · coach · game · spring · snap · rock

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. game — a match
  3. rock — music
  4. spring — the season
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. drill — army training
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rock — a stone
  9. drill — the tool
  10. land — a country
  11. bass — low music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — of water
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. spring — a coil
  19. snap — to click
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. drill — a practice
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. game — wild animals

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