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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: clip · fall · date · chest · key · court · stick · nail

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. key — the most important part
  5. fall — the season
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. chest — a box
  8. court — for sport
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chest — of your body
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. clip — for paper
  15. court — of law
  16. key — in music
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. court — of a king
  19. date — the fruit
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chest — of your body
  22. key — for a lock
  23. clip — to cut
  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