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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
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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: mark · clip · date · drill · rest · shower · chip · spring

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  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. rest — a break
  2. shower — to wash
  3. drill — the tool
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — the season
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mark — a grade
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. rest — what's left
  15. drill — army training
  16. date — the fruit
  17. shower — rain
  18. clip — a video
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. clip — to cut
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chip — to eat
  23. mark — a trace
  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