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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: clip · land · drill · kid · cue · safe · leaves · rock

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — for pool
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. land — a country
  7. drill — a practice
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. rock — music
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. drill — the tool
  15. land — ground
  16. drill — army training
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — to come down
  22. cue — a signal
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rock — a stone

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