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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: clip · game · land · nail · leaves · drill · face · spring

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. face — to confront
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spring — the season
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — army training
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. face — part of the head
  13. land — to come down
  14. face — to point toward
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. land — a country
  17. clip — a video
  18. spring — a coil
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spring — of water
  21. land — ground
  22. game — a match
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. clip — for paper

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