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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: clip · key · bat · object · last · drill · tube · mine

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. key — the most important part
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. key — for a lock
  10. clip — to cut
  11. drill — the tool
  12. tube — the underground
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. key — in music
  16. last — to go on
  17. drill — army training
  18. object — an aim
  19. last — final
  20. tube — a container
  21. object — a thing
  22. last — finally
  23. object — to protest
  24. clip — for paper

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