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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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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: ground · clip · ball · present · lash · band · tear · drill

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. drill — the tool
  3. ball — a dance
  4. drill — a practice
  5. ball — a great time
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. drill — army training
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — the time now
  14. ground — a position
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — to rip
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ground — crushed
  22. clip — to cut
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a music group

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