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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 120 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.

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: nail · craft · bat · file · pit · clip · plane · lie

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. clip — a video
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. craft — boats
  10. pit — in a race
  11. plane — a tool
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pit — a hole
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. craft — a skill
  16. file — a tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lie — to recline
  19. clip — to cut
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. file — a line of people
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. file — a document

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