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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 120 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: kid · saw · chair · nail · key · rule · bass · clip

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. key — for a lock
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rule — a law
  8. chair — a leader
  9. clip — for paper
  10. kid — to tease
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bass — low music
  14. clip — a video
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. key — in music
  17. rule — government
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. kid — child
  21. clip — to cut
  22. key — the most important part
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bass — the instrument

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