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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: nail · cell · hide · firm · snap · tear · clip · bass

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tear — from crying
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bass — the fish
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. firm — steady
  13. cell — a phone
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — a video
  16. bass — low music
  17. firm — decided
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. cell — in biology
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. firm — a company
  24. tear — to rip

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