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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. clip — for paper
  4. roll — a list
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. capital — money
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cue — a signal
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. clip — to cut
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cue — for pool
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. roll — a cake
  21. capital — a city
  22. clip — a video
  23. cue — a hint
  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