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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 · club · tube · rush · foot · mine · spring · rest

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. rest — what's left
  4. foot — a measure
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. club — a group
  10. rest — a break
  11. drill — a practice
  12. spring — the season
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spring — a coil
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. mine — for digging
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. spring — of water
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. club — for golf
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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