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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cap — a lid
  5. clip — a video
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. cap — a hat
  9. snap — to click
  10. mug — a face
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. cap — of ice
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — hasty
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a cup
  19. drill — a practice
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. clip — to cut
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rash — a series

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