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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 124 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. drill — army training
  3. rush — hurry
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bound — certain
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — the tool
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. clip — a video
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bound — tied together
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bore — to tire
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bore — to drill
  24. kick — with a leg

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