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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · drill · spring · chair · wound · key · clip · mark

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. key — for a lock
  4. drill — army training
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mark — a grade
  10. spring — the season
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. key — in music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. clip — for paper
  15. drill — a practice
  16. chair — a leader
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — a video
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. spring — of water
  23. game — a match
  24. key — the most important part

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