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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. stock — goods
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. wound — an injury
  8. clip — for paper
  9. drill — a practice
  10. clip — to cut
  11. cell — a phone
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. clip — a video
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. cell — in biology
  23. drill — army training
  24. stock — shares

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