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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 116 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: fork · cell · drill · clip · nail · mine · field · band

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. fork — in a road
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. field — for sport
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mine — for digging
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — a subject
  18. band — a ring
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cell — a phone
  21. field — farmland
  22. drill — a practice
  23. clip — for paper
  24. band — a music group

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