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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 · chip · hide · kid · content · clip · ruler · firm

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. content — the amount
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. firm — steady
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. drill — army training
  11. content — happy
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. chip — to eat
  16. firm — decided
  17. kid — child
  18. drill — a practice
  19. chip — for betting
  20. firm — a company
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. drill — the tool

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