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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: staff · bark · drill · last · rule · clip · charge · rash

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. last — to go on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bark — to shout
  6. rash — hasty
  7. last — final
  8. rule — a law
  9. drill — a practice
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. staff — a stick
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. clip — for paper
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — a price
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. drill — army training
  19. staff — employees
  20. charge — electricity
  21. rule — government
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — a video
  24. last — finally

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