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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.

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: mine · spring · fall · bay · wax · pitcher · row · drill

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. mine — for digging
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fall — to drop
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. row — a line
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fall — the season
  17. drill — army training
  18. fall — to drop
  19. row — to paddle
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. row — a quarrel
  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