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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: shower · pit · hand · hide · craft · drill · track · spring

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. drill — a practice
  3. hand — help
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. spring — the season
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. track — a path
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — in a race
  14. craft — boats
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. track — to keep track
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. track — a song
  20. drill — army training
  21. shower — rain
  22. craft — a skill
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. drill — the tool

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