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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: saw · leaves · race · date · drill · bat · rule · nail

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. rule — government
  3. date — the fruit
  4. race — the arms race
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rule — a law
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. race — a contest
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bat — the animal
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. saw — the tool
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. saw — the tool
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. race — humankind
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. drill — army training

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