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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wake — a trail
  3. drill — a practice
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pit — in a race
  9. clip — a video
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. dip — to sink
  14. tear — to rip
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pit — a hole
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. tear — from crying
  20. clip — to cut
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. drill — army training

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