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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bowl · drill · wind · file · spell · swing · staff

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — for paper
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spell — magic
  8. drill — army training
  9. staff — employees
  10. spell — letters
  11. drill — a practice
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. swing — music
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — moving air
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. staff — a stick
  24. swing — to play on

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