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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. drill — a practice
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. object — a thing
  14. shower — rain
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. drill — army training
  17. object — to protest
  18. band — a music group
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. shower — to wash
  22. sharp — clever
  23. object — an aim
  24. drill — the tool

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