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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · face · drill · cap · spell · field · staff · shower

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. face — to point toward
  3. drill — army training
  4. spell — magic
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. shower — to wash
  10. staff — a stick
  11. shower — rain
  12. staff — employees
  13. face — to confront
  14. spell — a short time
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. cap — a hat
  19. face — part of the head
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — the tool
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spell — letters

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