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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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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 · capital · spell · tear · rush · arm · cell · clip

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. capital — money
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — a video
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cell — in biology
  11. capital — a city
  12. spell — letters
  13. rush — hurry
  14. drill — a practice
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tear — to rip
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. drill — army training
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cell — a phone
  24. rush — to hurry

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