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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 · drill · nail · plane · season · cell · fall · hide

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cell — a phone
  4. drill — army training
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. cell — in biology
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. drill — the tool
  10. season — in sport
  11. fall — the season
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. drill — a practice
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. plane — a tool
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. fall — to drop
  20. season — of the year
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. spring — a coil
  24. plane — in geometry

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