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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 120 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: kid · bay · field · charge · tube · drill · staff · clip

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. staff — employees
  8. field — for sport
  9. charge — in control
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — army training
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — farmland
  15. clip — for paper
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. staff — employees
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — a container
  20. drill — the tool
  21. tube — the underground
  22. charge — a price
  23. charge — electricity
  24. staff — a stick

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