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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: fall · trunk · pitcher · clip · stick · drill · kid · file

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. fall — the season
  8. file — a document
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fall — to drop
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. drill — the tool
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. clip — a video
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — child
  20. drill — a practice
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitcher — a jug

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