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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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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 · track · safe · ruler · drill · cold · pit · spring

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. drill — army training
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chest — of your body
  7. track — a song
  8. spring — a coil
  9. track — to keep track
  10. spring — of water
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. chest — a box
  14. spring — the season
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. pit — in a race
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. chest — of your body
  21. track — a path
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. pit — a hole
  24. safe — out of danger

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