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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.

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: court · bank · staff · cold · rush · ruler · clip · drill

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bank — of a river
  3. drill — army training
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — hurry
  7. court — of law
  8. staff — employees
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. staff — employees
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. clip — a video
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. drill — a practice
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — for sport
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bank — for money
  24. court — of a king

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