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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: cap · mine · dip · drill · trunk · spring · bowl · cell

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. spring — a coil
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. drill — the tool
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cap — of ice
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cell — a phone

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