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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: clip · bore · bound · straw · march · sharp · drill · pitch

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  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. march — the month
  2. clip — a video
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitch — completely
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bore — to drill
  12. drill — army training
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bore — to tire
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bound — tied together
  17. march — the month
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bound — certain
  20. march — music
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pitch — a sports field
  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