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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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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: dip · wind · arm · file · drill · bat · rule · coach

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bat — the animal
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. drill — army training
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rule — a law
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. file — a line of people
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — to sink
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. file — a document
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. file — a tool
  22. rule — government
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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