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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. wound — an injury
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. race — a contest
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. spring — a coil
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fall — to drop
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spring — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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