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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: stick · clip · nail · last · cap · land · lie · cell

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  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. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — to come down
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. land — ground
  6. clip — to cut
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. land — a country
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. cap — of ice
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cap — a hat
  18. last — final
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cap — a lid
  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