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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: ball · club · arm · coach · spell · spring · march · drill

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — letters
  4. club — for golf
  5. spring — a coil
  6. drill — a practice
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. drill — the tool
  9. club — for dancing
  10. march — music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. spring — the season
  16. club — a group
  17. spell — magic
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spring — of water
  20. march — the month
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. drill — army training
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ball — a round shape

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