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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. clip — for paper
  3. mug — to rob
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — farmland
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. branch — a division
  9. mug — a cup
  10. field — a subject
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. field — for sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — to rip
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. perch — the fish
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mug — a face
  23. tear — from crying
  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