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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: lash · kick · bat · firm · key · drill · mine · clip

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. drill — army training
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — the tool
  6. key — in music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. key — the most important part
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. drill — a practice
  16. firm — steady
  17. kick — in football
  18. clip — to cut
  19. firm — decided
  20. bat — the animal
  21. firm — a company
  22. clip — for paper
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. mine — belonging to me

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