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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. drill — a practice
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. plane — a tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fall — the season
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. kick — in football
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fall — to drop
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. branch — a division
  23. wind — moving air
  24. drill — army training

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