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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. club — for dancing
  3. foot — a measure
  4. club — for golf
  5. drill — army training
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bore — to drill
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. drill — a practice
  13. clip — to cut
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bore — to tire
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. mark — a trace
  21. clip — a video
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. club — a group

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