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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. drill — the tool
  3. pop — music
  4. clip — to cut
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — soda
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. saw — the tool
  13. branch — a division
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. hand — in cards
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. drill — army training
  20. clip — a video
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pitch — completely

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