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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: chest · bulb · wound · key · snap · fall · drill · fork

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. key — the most important part
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chest — a box
  6. bulb — for light
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fork — in a road
  13. snap — to click
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. key — in music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. fall — the season
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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