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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: band · ground · kid · mate · nail · hand · drill · spring

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. drill — a practice
  3. ground — the earth
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spring — the season
  6. ground — crushed
  7. kid — to tease
  8. band — a ring
  9. spring — a coil
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. drill — army training
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. drill — the tool
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mate — to breed
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. spring — of water
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. ground — a position
  22. mate — a friend
  23. kid — child
  24. band — a music group

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