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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: clip · fall · scale · hand · snap · fine · drill · current

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. snap — to click
  3. current — electric
  4. hand — help
  5. clip — to cut
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. clip — for paper
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fine — high quality
  14. current — happening now
  15. scale — in music
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. clip — a video
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fall — the season
  22. drill — a practice
  23. fall — to drop
  24. current — of water

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