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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: net · band · wound · arm · last · drill · stand · clip

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — final
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. net — in sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — for catching
  12. clip — to cut
  13. drill — army training
  14. net — after costs
  15. clip — a video
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. last — to go on
  19. wound — an injury
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wound — an injury
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. last — finally

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