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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: bat · wake · clip · shower · field · firm · drill · mug

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — rain
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — a video
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — steady
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. field — a subject
  10. drill — a practice
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wake — a trail
  17. mug — a cup
  18. drill — army training
  19. mug — to rob
  20. field — for sport
  21. firm — decided
  22. mug — a face
  23. drill — the tool
  24. field — farmland

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