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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: drill · arm · wake · clip · jam · perch · root · kid

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. clip — for paper
  4. drill — army training
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. root — of a word
  9. kid — to tease
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — child
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. clip — to cut
  15. root — the cause
  16. drill — a practice
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. wake — a trail
  19. clip — a video
  20. perch — the fish
  21. root — of a plant
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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