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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: craft · last · snap · nail · clip · perch · press · race

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. press — newspapers
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. craft — a skill
  7. clip — to cut
  8. last — finally
  9. clip — a video
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. snap — to click
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — humankind
  15. last — final
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. press — a publisher
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. race — a contest
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. press — to push
  22. last — to go on
  23. craft — boats
  24. race — the arms race

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