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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.

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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: spring · mark · stock · pass · saw · drill · rash · sharp

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. drill — a practice
  7. spring — a coil
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. spring — the season
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. pass — a permit
  14. drill — the tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. mark — a trace
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rash — a series
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. saw — the tool
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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