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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: bay · snap · firm · game · drill · cap · rash · clip

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. rash — hasty
  3. cap — a lid
  4. drill — a practice
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. clip — for paper
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. firm — a company
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. game — a match
  14. snap — to click
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cap — a hat
  17. drill — army training
  18. firm — steady
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. firm — decided
  23. rash — a series
  24. drill — the tool

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