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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: wind · drill · fall · tube · patient · rush · temple · mark

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. drill — army training
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. tube — a container
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. drill — a practice
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wind — moving air
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rush — hurry
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. tube — the underground
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fall — to drop
  22. drill — the tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fall — the season

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