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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. land — a country
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. land — ground
  15. drill — a practice
  16. clip — a video
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. drill — the tool
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. land — to come down

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