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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: can · drill · perch · wind · clip · rule · rest · mate

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. wind — moving air
  5. drill — the tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mate — to breed
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rest — what's left
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — what's left
  16. can — a tin
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — a law
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rest — a break
  22. perch — the fish
  23. mate — a partner
  24. drill — army training

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