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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 · chest · spell · spring · board · hide · leaves · land

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. spell — magic
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. spring — the season
  6. drill — the tool
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. spell — letters
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. board — to get on
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. land — a country
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. land — to come down
  19. drill — army training
  20. spell — a short time
  21. land — ground
  22. board — a committee
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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