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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: wind · lie · hand · drill · saw · clip · mate · safe

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. clip — to cut
  3. mate — to breed
  4. drill — army training
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. clip — for paper
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a partner
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. drill — the tool
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — a video
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mate — a friend

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