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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: swing · coach · tear · pitcher · drill · file · lie · clip

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — to cut
  4. swing — to play on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. drill — army training
  8. file — a document
  9. swing — in golf
  10. tear — to rip
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. drill — a practice
  13. lie — to recline
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — from crying
  16. clip — a video
  17. file — a line of people
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. drill — the tool
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. swing — music

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