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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: spring · bulb · drill · branch · rush · cap · face · hand

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. drill — army training
  4. spring — a coil
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. drill — a practice
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. face — to confront
  9. hand — help
  10. spring — of water
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cap — of ice
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cap — a lid
  15. drill — the tool
  16. branch — a division
  17. spring — the season
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bulb — for light
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bulb — of a plant

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