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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: drill · row · file · clip · lie · pop · season · mug

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pop — to visit
  3. row — to paddle
  4. pop — music
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mug — a face
  9. clip — to cut
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pop — soda
  16. season — in sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. file — a line of people
  19. row — a line
  20. drill — army training
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. lie — to recline

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