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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · tube · drill · straw · fall · ball · rest · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. rest — a break
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. fall — the season
  9. scale — in music
  10. ball — a dance
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ball — a great time
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tube — a container
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fall — to drop
  17. drill — a practice
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hand — in cards
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. tube — the underground
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ball — a round shape

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