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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: drill · ground · clip · hand · leaves · tube · bowl · wind

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. drill — a practice
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ground — a position
  5. tube — the underground
  6. clip — for paper
  7. drill — army training
  8. wind — moving air
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. hand — help
  11. drill — the tool
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. ground — crushed
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. tube — a container
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. clip — a video
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. leaves — lets stay

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