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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 116 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: key · drill · game · spring · wound · pass · cold · pitcher

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. spring — of water
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spring — a coil
  7. drill — army training
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cold — an illness
  12. key — for a lock
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spring — the season
  18. key — in music
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cold — not warm
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pitcher — a jug

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