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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bank — for money
  5. squash — to crush
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — a grade
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. clip — to cut
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — for paper
  15. snap — to click
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. squash — the sport
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cell — a phone
  24. nail — on a finger

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