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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: bulb · roll · chip · fine · stand · drill · cold · fall

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. fine — all right
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bulb — for light
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. fine — high quality
  9. drill — army training
  10. stand — to bear
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. cold — not warm
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. fall — the season
  18. roll — a list
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chip — for betting
  24. drill — a practice

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