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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: clip · sharp · nail · file · land · hand · arm · squash

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. squash — the sport
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. file — a tool
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. clip — a video
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — help
  15. clip — to cut
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. land — ground
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. squash — to crush
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. land — to come down
  24. nail — for a hammer

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