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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: chair · clip · drill · band · pound · squash · craft · mate

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mate — a friend
  9. craft — boats
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mate — a partner
  12. drill — army training
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. clip — a video
  15. craft — a skill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. mate — to breed
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pound — a weight
  20. clip — to cut
  21. chair — a leader
  22. band — a music group
  23. squash — the sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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