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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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Word bank
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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: pound · drill · staff · tear · clip · chair

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. 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 — a practice
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. drill — army training
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. tear — from crying
  8. staff — employees
  9. tear — from crying
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tear — to rip
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chair — a leader
  16. staff — employees
  17. clip — to cut
  18. 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