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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 · kick · clip · bark · mine · tear · key · safe

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bark — to shout
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — army training
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kick — in football
  12. mine — for digging
  13. tear — to rip
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. clip — a video
  17. key — in music
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. tear — from crying

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