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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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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: row · wind · clip · mark · fall · drill · ruler · march

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. march — the month
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. march — the month
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mark — a grade
  9. drill — army training
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mark — a trace
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — music
  17. fall — the season
  18. row — a line
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mark — to pay attention

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