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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. mine — for digging
  5. clip — a video
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fine — high quality
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. hand — in cards
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. hand — help
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fine — all right

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