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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. drill — the tool
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. kid — child
  5. row — to paddle
  6. chair — a leader
  7. kid — to tease
  8. drill — army training
  9. row — a line
  10. clip — for paper
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. last — to go on
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — finally
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. last — final
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. drill — a practice
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. mouse — the animal

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