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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: drill · bulb · clip · cold · squash · stock · rush · pitcher

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rush — hurry
  4. stock — goods
  5. drill — the tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. drill — army training
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stock — shares
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. squash — the sport
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cold — not warm

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