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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 120 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. face — to point toward
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. capital — money
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. capital — a city
  8. drill — a practice
  9. race — the arms race
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. race — a contest
  13. race — humankind
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. drill — army training
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. face — to confront
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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