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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · fall · clip · rush · nail · track · pop · sharp

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. clip — to cut
  3. track — a song
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pop — music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rush — hurry
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fall — to drop
  12. clip — for paper
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fall — to drop
  18. track — a path
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. fall — the season
  22. pop — soda
  23. clip — a video
  24. sharp — with an edge

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