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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. march — the month
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bore — to drill
  7. hand — help
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a list
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. fall — to drop
  16. march — music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bore — to tire
  21. stand — to bear
  22. hand — in cards
  23. march — the month
  24. stand — on your feet

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