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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. clip — for paper
  6. pop — soda
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. squash — the sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. craft — a skill
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. clip — a video
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — boats
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pop — music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pop — to visit
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — a country
  24. squash — the vegetable

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