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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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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: fine · hand · drill · shower · race · clip · temple · mug

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. clip — a video
  3. fine — all right
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. clip — to cut
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — to wash
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. race — a contest
  16. mug — a face
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mug — a cup
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mug — to rob
  21. shower — rain
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. fine — high quality
  24. hand — help

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