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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rush — hurry
  3. drill — army training
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. band — a music group
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a ring
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chest — of your body
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chest — a box
  15. drill — the tool
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. fall — the season
  20. drill — a practice
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fall — to drop

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