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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: drill · clip · row · straw · band · stand · ball · object

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. object — an aim
  3. ball — a dance
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. drill — the tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. drill — a practice
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. object — a thing
  16. row — to paddle
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. clip — a video
  20. band — a ring
  21. stand — to bear
  22. clip — to cut
  23. band — a music group
  24. object — to protest

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