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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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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: bore · object · snap · content · cell · roll · clip · drill

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  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. snap — to speak sharply
  2. drill — the tool
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. object — to protest
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. drill — army training
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. object — an aim
  14. snap — to click
  15. bore — to drill
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. clip — a video
  19. object — a thing
  20. roll — a list
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. roll — a cake
  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