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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: mug · clip · drill · march · sharp · wake · stand · squash

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. sharp — clever
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — a practice
  6. mug — to rob
  7. clip — for paper
  8. march — music
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mug — a face
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. squash — to crush
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. march — the month
  20. squash — the sport
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mug — a cup
  23. drill — army training
  24. clip — a video

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