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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: fall · drill · kid · race · swing · tube · wind · safe

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — a contest
  6. drill — army training
  7. race — humankind
  8. tube — a container
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tube — the underground
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — music
  14. drill — a practice
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fall — the season
  17. race — the arms race
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. fall — to drop
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kid — child
  24. drill — the tool

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