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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: bowl · fall · nail · clip · wound · row · cell · cap

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. row — a line
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. clip — for paper
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — to paddle
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cap — of ice
  19. clip — a video
  20. fall — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cap — a hat
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — a quarrel

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