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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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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: deal · plane · tear · drill · fall · cell · bore · pop

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pop — music
  8. bore — to drill
  9. deal — to handle
  10. fall — to drop
  11. pop — soda
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — a tool
  20. fall — the season
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pop — to visit

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