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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: drill · spring · last · field · fall · wave · ball · branch

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. drill — army training
  7. spring — of water
  8. ball — a dance
  9. drill — a practice
  10. last — to go on
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — farmland
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. field — for sport
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. ball — a great time
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. field — a subject
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ball — a round shape

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