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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fork · date · land · cell · drill · bulb · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. land — a country
  4. cell — in biology
  5. spring — of water
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. spring — a coil
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. date — the fruit
  19. land — to come down
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. cell — a phone
  23. land — ground
  24. date — on the calendar

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