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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · game · cabinet · squash · drill · calf · tear · race

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. drill — a practice
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. race — humankind
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tear — to rip
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. game — wild animals
  13. drill — army training
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. drill — the tool
  17. tear — from crying
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. race — a contest
  24. squash — the sport

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