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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: clip · club · saw · fine · rush · drill · plane · wind

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wind — moving air
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. drill — army training
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. club — for golf
  11. clip — for paper
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. clip — a video
  15. club — a group
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — all right
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. club — for dancing
  22. clip — to cut
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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