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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fall — the season
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fall — to drop
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tear — from crying
  11. key — in music
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bat — the animal
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. tear — from crying
  16. key — for a lock
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. perch — the fish
  19. squash — the sport
  20. key — the most important part
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. squash — to crush
  23. tear — to rip
  24. perch — for a bird

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