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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: perch · clip · fall · drill · club · roll · rush · fan

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. roll — a list
  5. perch — the fish
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for golf
  11. fall — to drop
  12. roll — a cake
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. drill — army training
  19. club — for dancing
  20. drill — a practice
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. fall — the season
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rush — a thrill

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