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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: drill · cabinet · net · cold · clip · root · fall · charge

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — a video
  4. fall — the season
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. root — of a word
  7. charge — a price
  8. charge — in control
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. net — after costs
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. drill — the tool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fall — to drop
  18. root — of a plant
  19. root — the cause
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — in sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. drill — army training
  24. net — for catching

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