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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pit — in a race
  7. drill — a practice
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. deal — to handle
  14. drill — army training
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. shower — rain
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. shower — to wash
  20. race — humankind
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. race — a contest
  24. deal — a big deal

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