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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. last — final
  3. chip — for betting
  4. clip — for paper
  5. dip — to sink
  6. spring — of water
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. last — finally
  12. clip — to cut
  13. present — the time now
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. spring — the season
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — to go on
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. clip — a video
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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