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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. drill — army training
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. clip — for paper
  5. saw — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cap — a hat
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cap — a lid
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cap — of ice
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — a video
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. clip — to cut
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kick — a thrill

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