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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. fork — in a road
  5. firm — steady
  6. lean — to bend
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. clip — for paper
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — for a lock
  12. roll — a list
  13. lean — thin
  14. firm — a company
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. firm — decided
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. roll — a cake
  21. key — in music
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. clip — a video
  24. bat — in an idiom

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