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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: rush · sharp · saw · stock · clip · kick · drill · mouse

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. saw — the tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. sharp — clever
  8. kick — in football
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. drill — the tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. drill — army training
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. clip — a video
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. drill — a practice
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mouse — the animal

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