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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 116 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: board · spring · rush · game · cap · object · plane · drill

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. cap — of ice
  3. rush — hurry
  4. game — wild animals
  5. drill — army training
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. game — a match
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. board — a committee
  17. spring — of water
  18. object — an aim
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. spring — the season
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. spring — a coil
  24. game — a kind of play

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