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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: spring · firm · wave · clip · key · drill · kid · foot

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. firm — decided
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. spring — a coil
  10. key — for a lock
  11. kid — child
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. spring — the season
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. foot — a measure
  18. firm — steady
  19. key — the most important part
  20. firm — a company
  21. drill — army training
  22. key — in music
  23. spring — of water
  24. drill — the tool

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