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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: chip · lash · track · field · drill · wind · spring · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. field — for sport
  5. spring — the season
  6. track — a path
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — farmland
  15. track — a song
  16. drill — army training
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. spring — of water
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chip — to eat
  23. spring — a coil
  24. field — a subject

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