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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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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: drill · present · wind · mate · clip · mug · temple · stand

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mug — a face
  5. wind — moving air
  6. present — there
  7. mate — to breed
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — a video
  12. drill — a practice
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. drill — the tool
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. drill — army training
  17. present — the time now
  18. stand — to bear
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. mate — a friend
  22. clip — for paper
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. stand — for spectators

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