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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 116 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: clip · racket · board · drill · pass · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. clip — to cut
  6. board — a committee
  7. clip — for paper
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. clip — a video
  13. drill — army training
  14. board — to get on
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to succeed

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