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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 120 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: perch · sharp · clip · bore · mine · band · hide · drill

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — a practice
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bore — to tire
  8. mine — for digging
  9. clip — for paper
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bore — to drill
  15. sharp — clever
  16. perch — the fish
  17. band — a music group
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. clip — to cut
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. clip — a video
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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