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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rash — hasty
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rash — a series
  5. clip — to cut
  6. mark — a trace
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mark — a grade
  9. rest — a break
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. firm — decided
  12. cap — a lid
  13. rest — what's left
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cap — a hat
  21. firm — steady
  22. cap — of ice
  23. clip — a video
  24. firm — a company

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