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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: trunk · clip · march · saw · nail · staff · sharp · shower

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. clip — a video
  5. sharp — clever
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. march — the month
  10. staff — employees
  11. march — the month
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. shower — rain
  15. staff — employees
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. staff — a stick
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. clip — for paper
  23. saw — the tool
  24. shower — to wash

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