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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 116 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: rule · clip · cold · mine · perch · root · drill · cabinet

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — government
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — army training
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. perch — the fish
  20. clip — a video
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. root — of a plant
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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