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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: mate · staff · clip · nail · drill · field · spell · deal

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. field — farmland
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — a subject
  6. staff — employees
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. drill — army training
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — a video
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — to handle
  15. clip — for paper
  16. drill — a practice
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a partner
  19. field — for sport
  20. mate — a friend
  21. spell — letters
  22. drill — the tool
  23. clip — to cut
  24. nail — for a hammer

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