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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: wind · pop · nail · clip · rule · kid · kick · pitcher

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — a law
  4. kid — child
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — soda
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. rule — government
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kick — in football
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pop — music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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