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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 116 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: bass · drill · clip · game · craft · snap · cue · tear

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. clip — to cut
  6. tear — from crying
  7. clip — for paper
  8. cue — for pool
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — a signal
  14. snap — to click
  15. drill — army training
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — boats
  19. clip — a video
  20. bass — low music
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. tear — to rip
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. drill — a practice

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