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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: wound · rule · mine · season · clip · rash · bowl · drill

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rule — a law
  4. drill — army training
  5. clip — a video
  6. rash — hasty
  7. clip — to cut
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — for paper
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. mine — for digging
  17. drill — a practice
  18. rash — a series
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. season — in sport
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. season — of the year
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rule — government

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