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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. shower — rain
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cue — for pool
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cue — a hint
  12. clip — for paper
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — a video
  17. mug — to rob
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. drill — army training
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mug — a face
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mug — a cup
  24. stem — to come from

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