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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: track · spring · cold · rush · season · pitcher · plane · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. drill — army training
  2. track — a song
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cold — not warm
  7. drill — a practice
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spring — a coil
  11. season — of the year
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. spring — the season
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spring — of water
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. season — in sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. track — a path
  23. track — to keep track
  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