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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. clip — for paper
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. dip — to sink
  16. fine — all right
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — to cut
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. staff — employees
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. fine — high quality
  23. staff — employees
  24. racket — for tennis

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