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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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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: fall · cap · fork · nail · bowl · chest · ground · clip

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cap — of ice
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cap — a lid
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chest — of your body
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. clip — to cut
  10. ground — a position
  11. clip — a video
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chest — a box
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cap — a hat
  19. fall — the season
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. clip — for paper

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