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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · drill · wave · craft · saw · clip · mine · last

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. saw — the tool
  3. craft — a skill
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — for paper
  6. drill — army training
  7. court — of a king
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. drill — the tool
  11. craft — boats
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — for sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. saw — the tool
  18. last — to go on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — of law
  21. last — final
  22. drill — a practice
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wave — of the sea

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