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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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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: straw · cell · leaves · bat · nail · clip · pass · last

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. last — finally
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. clip — to cut
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. clip — for paper
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pass — a permit
  16. last — to go on
  17. clip — a video
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cell — in biology
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. last — final

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