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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pit — in a race
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. chest — a box
  6. clip — for paper
  7. file — a document
  8. fall — the season
  9. bank — for money
  10. file — a tool
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bank — for money
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bat — the animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — to cut

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