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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: sharp · bulb · row · wind · clip · squash · rest · nail

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. clip — a video
  3. row — a line
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. clip — to cut
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rest — a break
  13. sharp — clever
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rest — what's left
  24. squash — the sport

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