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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: cabinet · nail · cap · drill · ball · mine · clip · fine

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. fine — all right
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cap — a hat
  5. drill — a practice
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fine — high quality
  8. cap — of ice
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a dance
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. ball — a great time
  19. drill — army training
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. clip — a video
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. mine — for digging

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