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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. mark — a grade
  3. cap — a hat
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. drill — army training
  10. fall — the season
  11. saw — the tool
  12. land — ground
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cap — a lid
  15. dip — to sink
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rush — hurry
  19. saw — the tool
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mark — a trace
  24. dip — to dunk

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