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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 120 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: bat · shower · drill · safe · spring · rock · land · bass

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. drill — a practice
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bass — low music
  9. land — ground
  10. spring — the season
  11. rock — music
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. land — to come down
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. land — a country
  17. spring — of water
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. bass — the fish
  22. drill — army training
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spring — a coil

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