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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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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: court · clip · suit · drill · wind · roll · pass · pound

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. court — of a king
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. suit — in cards
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — army training
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. suit — clothes
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. wind — moving air
  13. roll — a cake
  14. pass — a permit
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. roll — a list
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. suit — to fit
  24. pass — to spend time

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