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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
468
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: bass · present · wound · spell · spring · last · wake · drill

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. spring — the season
  6. spell — magic
  7. drill — army training
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. present — the time now
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wound — an injury
  14. present — there
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wake — a trail
  17. last — final
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — letters
  20. drill — the tool
  21. last — finally
  22. last — to go on
  23. spring — of water
  24. spell — a short time

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