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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 116 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: bulb · last · drill · row · fall · mate · pop · wound

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wound — an injury
  3. row — a line
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bulb — for light
  6. fall — the season
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mate — a partner
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mate — to breed
  11. row — to paddle
  12. mate — a friend
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — final
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. drill — army training
  18. last — finally
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pop — music
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. last — to go on
  24. pop — to visit

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