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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bound — tied together
  5. clip — a video
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. last — to go on
  9. clip — for paper
  10. cap — a lid
  11. last — finally
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. bound — certain
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cap — of ice
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. clip — to cut
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. last — final

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