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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · clip · roll · kid · firm · mine · arm · nail

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mine — for digging
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. scale — size or range
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. firm — a company
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. roll — a list
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. clip — a video
  15. kid — child
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. firm — steady
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. scale — in music
  21. roll — a cake
  22. clip — to cut
  23. firm — decided
  24. arm — a part of something

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