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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: chest · can · bowl · sharp · fall · dip · lean · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. can — a tin
  4. sharp — clever
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. drill — army training
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chest — a box
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. can — to be able to
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. drill — a practice
  17. lean — thin
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. can — a tin
  21. dip — to sink
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. dip — to dunk

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