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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. drill — the tool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. face — to point toward
  7. saw — the tool
  8. craft — boats
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bass — the fish
  12. saw — the tool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. drill — army training
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. drill — a practice
  17. face — to confront
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. clip — a video
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — a skill

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