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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. clip — for paper
  4. last — final
  5. suit — clothes
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. track — a path
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. press — a publisher
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — finally
  13. chip — for betting
  14. suit — to fit
  15. season — in sport
  16. track — to keep track
  17. press — to push
  18. chip — to eat
  19. season — of the year
  20. suit — in cards
  21. track — a song
  22. last — to go on
  23. press — newspapers
  24. clip — to cut

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