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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bore · rule · straw · squash · fall · drill · hand · scale

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fall — the season
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. drill — a practice
  7. fall — to drop
  8. scale — in music
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. bore — to drill
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rule — a law
  13. squash — to crush
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. hand — help
  16. drill — army training
  17. rule — government
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bore — to tire
  22. drill — the tool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. hand — part of the body

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