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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. land — ground
  4. craft — boats
  5. cue — for pool
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — the tool
  9. land — a country
  10. drill — army training
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cue — a hint
  16. band — a music group
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. craft — a skill
  19. land — to come down
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. sharp — clever
  23. band — a ring
  24. cue — a signal

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