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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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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 · lie · wound · clip · cue · rule · hand · pound

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rule — a law
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. drill — the tool
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pound — a weight
  13. lie — to recline
  14. cue — for pool
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hand — help
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cue — a signal
  19. rule — government
  20. clip — a video
  21. drill — army training
  22. hand — in cards
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lie — an untruth

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