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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: bat · drill · pit · spring · last · straw · mine · firm

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. spring — a coil
  5. last — finally
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. firm — decided
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. firm — a company
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. last — final
  20. firm — steady
  21. spring — the season
  22. pit — in a race
  23. last — to go on
  24. drill — a practice

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