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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 116 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: pass · dip · spell · key · clip · cold · drill · net

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spell — letters
  3. key — the most important part
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. clip — for paper
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — for catching
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. spell — a short time
  13. clip — to cut
  14. key — for a lock
  15. drill — the tool
  16. dip — to sink
  17. drill — army training
  18. pass — a permit
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. key — in music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. spell — magic

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