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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: nail · clip · wind · kid · track · craft · tear · deal

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. track — a song
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. clip — for paper
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. track — to keep track
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. clip — a video
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — to handle
  18. craft — boats
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. craft — a skill
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. track — a path
  24. tear — from crying

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