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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mark — a trace
  8. rash — a series
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. tube — the underground
  15. mark — a grade
  16. rash — hasty
  17. clip — a video
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. clip — for paper
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — to cut
  23. saw — the tool
  24. sharp — clever

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