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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 · dip · fan · pitcher · wake · bass · spring · fall

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — of water
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. spring — the season
  5. dip — to sink
  6. drill — army training
  7. fall — the season
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — low music
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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