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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. clip — to cut
  3. hand — help
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitch — completely
  7. hand — in cards
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. dip — to sink
  14. saw — the tool
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. clip — for paper
  17. ball — a great time
  18. game — a match
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. ball — a dance
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. clip — a video

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