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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 116 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 · mug · file · bat · pop · bass · spring · cell

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. spring — the season
  3. drill — the tool
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pop — soda
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. mug — a face
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in biology
  13. drill — a practice
  14. pop — to visit
  15. mug — a cup
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. pop — music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. drill — army training
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bass — the instrument

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