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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: spring · bark · drill · rest · fall · game · craft · rash

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rest — a break
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. game — a match
  10. craft — a skill
  11. game — wild animals
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — army training
  14. rest — what's left
  15. spring — of water
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rash — a series
  19. craft — boats
  20. drill — the tool
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fall — the season
  23. spring — the season
  24. rest — what's left

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