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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: nail · bark · tube · deal · fine · march · spring · drill

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. tube — the underground
  5. march — the month
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. fine — all right
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. drill — army training
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spring — the season
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. deal — to handle
  18. drill — a practice
  19. march — music
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fine — high quality
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. spring — of water
  24. bark — to shout

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