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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: last · clip · wound · chair · drill · pop · staff · plane

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. last — to go on
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. drill — a practice
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. last — final
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chair — a leader
  14. drill — the tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. plane — a tool
  17. last — finally
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. drill — army training
  21. clip — for paper
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. wound — an injury
  24. chair — a professorship

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