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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: tube · spring · plane · file · bulb · drill · march · current

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. spring — of water
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. tube — a container
  5. spring — the season
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. current — happening now
  9. march — music
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. current — of water
  13. tube — the underground
  14. file — a line of people
  15. current — electric
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — the month
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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