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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 120 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: fall · pitcher · cold · nail · tube · bound · last · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — finally
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bound — certain
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fall — to drop
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. present — the time now
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bound — obliged
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bound — tied together
  20. fall — the season
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. present — a gift
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. last — final

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