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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: degree · drill · clip · wind · pop · staff · hand · row

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. hand — in cards
  3. degree — temperature
  4. staff — employees
  5. drill — a practice
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pop — to visit
  8. clip — a video
  9. pop — soda
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — from a university
  15. drill — army training
  16. staff — employees
  17. hand — help
  18. row — a line
  19. pop — music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. drill — the tool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hand — part of the body

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