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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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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. land — to come down
  3. fall — the season
  4. shower — to wash
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. shower — rain
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — in cards
  10. land — a country
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. drill — the tool
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. saw — the tool
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. saw — the tool
  20. race — humankind
  21. hand — help
  22. land — ground
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. drill — a practice

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