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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. hand — help
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hand — in cards
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. drill — army training
  17. bound — tied together
  18. fall — to drop
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wake — a trail

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