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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 116 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 · spring · key · race · trunk · bat · fan · mine

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. drill — a practice
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. drill — army training
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. race — the arms race
  8. key — for a lock
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. race — a contest
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. key — in music
  13. spring — the season
  14. race — humankind
  15. key — the most important part
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spring — a coil
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fan — to cool the air

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