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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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Word bank
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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: drill · cell · sharp · current · nail · fan · fall · kid

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — electric
  5. fall — the season
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. kid — child
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. sharp — clever
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. current — happening now
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. drill — a practice
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — in biology
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. drill — army training
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fall — to drop

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