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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bore — to drill
  4. current — of water
  5. last — final
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. bore — to tire
  10. last — finally
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. current — happening now
  14. fall — to drop
  15. current — electric
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. chest — a box
  18. fall — the season
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — to go on

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