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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: drill · spring · cabinet · suit · tear · fan · wound · game

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. game — a match
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. spring — the season
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. drill — the tool
  8. suit — to fit
  9. spring — of water
  10. suit — in cards
  11. drill — a practice
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. suit — clothes
  23. game — wild animals
  24. tear — to rip

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