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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.

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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: file · nail · rest · pitcher · rush · game · clip · racket

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. game — wild animals
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rush — hurry
  13. file — a document
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. file — a line of people
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. game — a match
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. clip — a video
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. clip — to cut

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