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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 124 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: ball · drill · spring · cap · jam · tube · last · snap

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. snap — to click
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tube — the underground
  9. cap — a hat
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. drill — a practice
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. drill — army training
  14. cap — a lid
  15. spring — the season
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. drill — the tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. cap — of ice
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. tube — a container

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