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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · rule · file · pound · clip · straw

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pound — a weight
  6. file — a line of people
  7. drill — army training
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. drill — a practice
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. rule — a law
  15. file — a tool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rule — government

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