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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: season · drill · cap · rush · clip · ground · bound · wound

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. drill — a practice
  3. rush — hurry
  4. clip — for paper
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bound — tied together
  7. season — of the year
  8. cap — of ice
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. season — in sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bound — certain
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cap — a lid
  16. drill — army training
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cap — a hat
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — obliged
  22. ground — crushed
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. drill — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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