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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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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: pound · bank · deal · straw · band · clip · kid · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. clip — to cut
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — a video
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — for paper
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bank — of a river
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. pound — a weight
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. kid — to tease
  17. band — a ring
  18. kid — child
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bank — for money
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pound — to hit hard

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