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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: last · sharp · pop · drill · vault · perch · clip · kid

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. drill — army training
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. last — final
  7. clip — to cut
  8. last — to go on
  9. clip — a video
  10. kid — child
  11. drill — a practice
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. kid — to tease
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — a safe
  19. clip — for paper
  20. perch — the fish
  21. pop — soda
  22. drill — the tool
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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