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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · rush · plane · nail · deal · chip · row · arm

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. row — a line
  18. clip — for paper
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. plane — in geometry

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