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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: hand · nail · sharp · craft · clip · tube · bound · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bound — certain
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bound — obliged
  10. sharp — clever
  11. craft — a skill
  12. clip — for paper
  13. hand — help
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. march — music
  16. craft — boats
  17. clip — a video
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. march — the month
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bound — tied together

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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