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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: clip · bass · wake · leaves · tear · rest · last · drill

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rest — a break
  3. last — finally
  4. drill — army training
  5. rest — what's left
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — to go on
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. clip — a video
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. last — final
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rest — what's left
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bass — low music
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. wake — a trail

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