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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: last · kick · drill · deal · clip · spring · bay · racket

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. drill — the tool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. clip — for paper
  7. drill — army training
  8. spring — the season
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. last — finally
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. deal — to handle
  14. last — to go on
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spring — of water
  17. drill — a practice
  18. clip — a video
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spring — a coil
  22. last — final
  23. kick — in football
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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