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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. field — a subject
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kid — to tease
  11. field — farmland
  12. rush — hurry
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — army training
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. band — a music group
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. saw — the tool
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — moving air

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