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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: race · cap · drill · bulb · straw · row · mark · chest

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. row — a line
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bulb — for light
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cap — of ice
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bulb — for light
  19. race — a contest
  20. mark — a trace
  21. drill — army training
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. chest — of your body

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