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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: racket · drill · land · clip · chair · bore · fine · arm

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bore — to drill
  3. fine — high quality
  4. land — a country
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. drill — the tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bore — to tire
  17. fine — all right
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. drill — a practice
  20. clip — a video
  21. drill — army training
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. arm — 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