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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: fall · stick · drill · wake · bat · prune · chip · club

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. drill — army training
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — a trail
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. prune — to trim
  15. club — for golf
  16. drill — a practice
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. club — a group
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. fall — to drop
  24. club — for dancing

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