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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 · season · kid · clip · bay · face

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. drill — a practice
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. face — to confront
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. clip — to cut
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — a video
  14. face — to point toward
  15. clip — for paper
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. bay — a part of the sea

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