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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: field · mate · bark · spring · tube · drill · fine · face

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. spring — the season
  3. fine — high quality
  4. field — a subject
  5. spring — a coil
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — the underground
  8. fine — all right
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mate — a friend
  13. field — farmland
  14. tube — a container
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a partner
  17. spring — of water
  18. face — to point toward
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. field — for sport
  22. bark — to shout
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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