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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — a series
  6. drill — army training
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. land — to come down
  10. tear — from crying
  11. clip — for paper
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — child
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. land — ground
  20. current — of water
  21. land — a country
  22. drill — a practice
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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