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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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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: present · band · drill · kick · lie · board · clip · fork

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. clip — to cut
  6. board — to get on
  7. drill — the tool
  8. band — a music group
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. drill — army training
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. clip — for paper
  16. present — a gift
  17. clip — a video
  18. band — a ring
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fork — in a road
  22. board — a committee
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. drill — a practice

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