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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: clip · spring · ground · mark · last · craft · stick · hand

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. hand — help
  3. craft — a skill
  4. clip — for paper
  5. spring — of water
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. spring — the season
  9. hand — in cards
  10. last — finally
  11. ground — a position
  12. mark — a trace
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. last — to go on
  17. ground — the earth
  18. last — final
  19. mark — a grade
  20. ground — crushed
  21. craft — boats
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mark — to pay attention

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