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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. clip — a video
  3. shower — to wash
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. clip — to cut
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bat — the animal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. shower — rain
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wind — moving air
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. clip — for paper

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