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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. clip — to cut
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. land — to come down
  6. clip — for paper
  7. charge — in control
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. charge — a price
  10. last — final
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. last — to go on
  18. drill — army training
  19. kick — in football
  20. charge — electricity
  21. drill — a practice
  22. last — finally
  23. clip — a video
  24. content — the amount

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