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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — for paper
  5. march — music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. clip — a video
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. march — the month
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. snap — to click
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lean — to bend
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wake — a trail
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. lean — thin

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