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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. fine — high quality
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. bore — to tire
  10. snap — to click
  11. drill — army training
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stand — to bear
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. file — a document
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. fine — all right
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. file — a tool
  24. drill — a practice

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