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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.

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: tube · drill · fall · cold · nail · arm · board · season

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. season — of the year
  4. tube — the underground
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. fall — to drop
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. season — in sport
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. tube — a container
  12. board — to get on
  13. drill — army training
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — an illness
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — a practice
  22. board — a committee
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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