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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.

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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: drill · spring · pitcher · key · present · field · race · scale

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. key — the most important part
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. key — for a lock
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. race — the arms race
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. drill — army training
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. spring — of water
  12. race — a contest
  13. field — a subject
  14. present — the time now
  15. scale — in music
  16. race — humankind
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — a coil
  19. present — a gift
  20. drill — a practice
  21. scale — size or range
  22. key — in music
  23. drill — the tool
  24. present — there

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