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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: nail · key · pound · rest · court · bear · clip · last

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — for paper
  6. last — to go on
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. key — the most important part
  9. clip — to cut
  10. court — of a king
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. last — final
  13. bear — the animal
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bear — the animal
  20. rest — a break
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. key — in music
  23. last — finally
  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