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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: spring · saw · nail · drill · cold · cap · chip · toast

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. saw — the tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — not warm
  6. toast — bread
  7. saw — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chip — for betting
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cap — a hat
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. drill — the tool
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cap — of ice
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. cap — a lid
  23. chip — to eat
  24. drill — army training

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