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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: roll · bowl · fork · clip · bat · ruler · spring · drill

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. drill — army training
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. spring — the season
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. roll — a cake
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. drill — the tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. roll — a list
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — of water
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bowl — a dish

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