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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. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. clip — a video
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cap — a lid
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cap — a hat
  8. craft — boats
  9. content — the amount
  10. land — ground
  11. cap — of ice
  12. content — happy
  13. wound — an injury
  14. land — to come down
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. craft — a skill
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. clip — to cut
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. land — a country
  24. wound — an injury

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