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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: wound · drill · craft · rush · clip · arm · leaves · pop

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pop — to visit
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. pop — soda
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. pop — music
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. craft — boats
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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