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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: fall · plane · last · drill · rock · hand · patient · club

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. drill — army training
  3. last — final
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fall — to drop
  6. last — finally
  7. plane — a tool
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rock — a stone
  13. hand — help
  14. club — a group
  15. last — to go on
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. drill — the tool
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rock — music
  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