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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 · wave · date · stand · ruler · drill · fork · file

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stand — to bear
  4. fork — in a road
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chest — of your body
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. file — a tool
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. file — a document
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. drill — the tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. date — the fruit
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. chest — a box
  21. drill — army training
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ruler — for measuring

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