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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: bay · wave · drill · tube · clip · perch · key · kid

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. key — in music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. drill — army training
  9. clip — a video
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. tube — a container
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. tube — the underground
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — child
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. perch — the fish
  23. key — for a lock
  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