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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: bore · mug · straw · cold · kid · safe · drill · clip

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bore — to drill
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. drill — army training
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bore — to tire
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mug — a face
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. clip — a video
  19. mug — to rob
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kid — child
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. cold — not warm

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