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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: mine · clip · wound · dip · nail · row · ruler · rush

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mine — for digging
  3. row — a line
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rush — hurry
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. clip — to cut
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — for paper
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. dip — to sink
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. wound — an injury
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rush — to hurry

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