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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 120 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: drill · bay · clip · leaves · current · trunk · firm · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. drill — the tool
  3. current — electric
  4. firm — decided
  5. current — happening now
  6. clip — a video
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. kick — in football
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. clip — to cut
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. firm — steady
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. firm — a company
  17. clip — for paper
  18. drill — a practice
  19. current — of water
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. drill — army training
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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