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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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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: season · drill · field · fork · clip · cue · temple · wind

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. field — farmland
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. field — a subject
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. clip — a video
  12. cue — a signal
  13. drill — army training
  14. field — for sport
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. cue — a hint
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. drill — a practice
  20. cue — for pool
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — for paper
  24. temple — a place of worship

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