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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: staff · land · spring · tube · drill · board · mate · race

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. mate — a friend
  7. land — ground
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. board — to get on
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — of water
  15. race — the arms race
  16. board — a committee
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. land — a country
  20. drill — army training
  21. spring — a coil
  22. staff — employees
  23. tube — the underground
  24. drill — a practice

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