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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: spring · cold · drill · bulb · plane · bear · race · bat

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. drill — army training
  5. spring — of water
  6. bulb — for light
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. race — humankind
  9. bear — the animal
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. drill — the tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bear — the animal
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bulb — for light
  24. race — a contest

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