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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: squash · calf · clip · drill · court · bowl · bay · root

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. drill — a practice
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. root — of a plant
  9. squash — the sport
  10. court — of law
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. drill — the tool
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. court — for sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. root — of a word
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. root — the cause
  24. clip — a video

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