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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 · wind · straw · degree · season · nail · craft · snap

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. clip — a video
  7. craft — a skill
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. craft — boats
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. clip — for paper
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. snap — to click
  17. degree — temperature
  18. season — of the year
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wind — moving air
  24. season — in 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