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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: saw · nail · board · pit · clip · cell · kick · rush

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. board — a flat piece
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. rush — hurry
  5. kick — in football
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. board — to get on
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pit — a hole
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pit — in a race
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. board — a committee
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — in a prison
  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