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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 112 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 · fine · squash · mine · bay · pit · cell · spring

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. fine — high quality
  3. pit — a hole
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. spring — the season
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. fine — all right
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. drill — army training
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spring — a coil
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. squash — the vegetable

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