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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stand — to bear
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. clip — to cut
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. clip — a video
  15. key — in music
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. tear — from crying
  18. clip — for paper
  19. land — a country
  20. tear — to rip
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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