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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bass — low music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fall — the season
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. craft — boats
  9. kid — child
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. fall — to drop
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. fall — to drop
  15. drill — army training
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bass — the fish
  18. tear — to rip
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — to tease
  24. craft — a skill

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