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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: mine · clip · drill · nail · fork · cap · kick · roll

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. drill — army training
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cap — a lid
  8. fork — in a road
  9. roll — a list
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. drill — the tool
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cap — of ice
  18. kick — in football
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. roll — a cake
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cap — a hat

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