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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 120 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. scale — in music
  6. clip — for paper
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a path
  9. kid — child
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. kid — to tease
  16. clip — a video
  17. track — a song
  18. scale — size or range
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. content — happy
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. nail — on a finger

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