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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. clip — a video
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kid — child
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. branch — a division
  17. chip — for betting
  18. cell — a phone
  19. chip — to eat
  20. cell — in biology
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. clip — to cut
  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