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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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. pound — to hit hard
  2. drill — army training
  3. spring — the season
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pound — a weight
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. saw — the tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spring — of water
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rush — hurry
  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