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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 116 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 · last · staff · nail · racket · vault · shower · mark

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. staff — a stick
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — final
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. last — finally
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mark — a trace
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. staff — employees
  16. vault — a safe
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. clip — a video
  19. shower — to wash
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. last — to go on
  22. shower — rain
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. mark — a grade

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