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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. clip — for paper
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. swing — music
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. clip — to cut
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. bass — low music
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. clip — a video
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cold — not warm
  24. swing — in golf

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