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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. swing — music
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wake — a trail
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. hand — in cards
  16. shower — rain
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hand — help
  23. tube — the underground
  24. clip — a video

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