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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spell — letters
  4. kid — child
  5. pit — in a race
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. last — final
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. kid — to tease
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pit — a hole
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. spell — magic
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — for paper
  24. spell — a short time

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