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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. race — a contest
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wound — an injury
  5. drill — army training
  6. track — to keep track
  7. race — humankind
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. track — a song
  11. race — the arms race
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fall — the season
  14. bound — tied together
  15. track — a path
  16. wound — an injury
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bound — certain

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