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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bank — for money
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kick — in football
  10. bank — for money
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. pop — soda
  15. clip — to cut
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. clip — a video

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