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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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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: cabinet · drill · branch · clip · wind · bore · wave · rule

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — to cut
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. bore — to drill
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. drill — army training
  16. rule — government
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — a video
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. rule — a law
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cabinet — ministers

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