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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fall — to drop
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. chest — a box
  6. bore — to tire
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bore — to drill
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bound — obliged
  12. game — a match
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fall — the season
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bound — certain
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. drill — the tool
  21. capital — a city
  22. bound — tied together
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fan — a supporter

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