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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: season · bat · cabinet · drill · pitcher · spring · root · lie

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. drill — army training
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. season — in sport
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. bat — the animal
  18. root — of a plant
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spring — the season

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