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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. squash — the sport
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. fall — to drop
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. race — a contest
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bulb — for light
  20. squash — to crush
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bulb — for light

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