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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 120 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: drill · craft · sharp · wound · mug · clip · land · firm

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. firm — steady
  3. drill — the tool
  4. land — ground
  5. craft — a skill
  6. mug — to rob
  7. craft — boats
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. firm — a company
  10. drill — a practice
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — to cut
  14. mug — a face
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mug — a cup
  18. land — a country
  19. firm — decided
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. drill — army training
  22. land — to come down
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. craft — a handicraft

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