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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · drill · mine · firm · staff · cold · clip · net

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. drill — army training
  6. clip — to cut
  7. net — in sport
  8. firm — a company
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. staff — employees
  11. net — for catching
  12. staff — employees
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — for paper
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. staff — a stick
  20. mine — for digging
  21. net — after costs
  22. kick — in football
  23. firm — steady
  24. clip — a video

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