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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. chest — a box
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — to rob
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — final
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. mug — a face
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chest — of your body
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kick — in football

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