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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. snap — to click
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. drill — army training
  8. pit — a hole
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. land — a country
  12. clip — a video
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. land — ground
  16. drill — a practice
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. land — to come down
  19. pit — in a race
  20. drill — the tool
  21. clip — to cut
  22. club — a group
  23. clip — for paper
  24. chair — a leader

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