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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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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: wind · bear · drill · court · racket · kick · ruler · clip

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of law
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. kick — in football
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. clip — to cut
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. drill — army training
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. court — of a king

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