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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 · fall · drill · chip · content · pitcher · track · nail

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. track — a song
  3. clip — for paper
  4. track — a path
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — the season
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. chip — to eat
  13. track — to keep track
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. drill — army training
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — the amount
  20. drill — a practice
  21. content — happy
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chip — for betting
  24. drill — the tool

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