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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bank — for money
  4. drill — the tool
  5. mark — a trace
  6. fall — to drop
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bank — of a river
  11. tube — a container
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mark — a grade
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. rock — music
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. row — a line
  22. bank — for money
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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