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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. drill — a practice
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. toast — bread
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cap — of ice
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — army training
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. hand — help
  15. clip — a video
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. clip — for paper
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. nail — for a hammer

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