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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: wind · staff · race · mine · fall · drill · firm · file

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. firm — a company
  3. race — humankind
  4. drill — the tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. staff — a stick
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. staff — employees
  9. fall — to drop
  10. race — a contest
  11. fall — the season
  12. firm — decided
  13. file — a line of people
  14. staff — employees
  15. race — the arms race
  16. file — a document
  17. firm — steady
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — army training
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a tool

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