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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 · last · clip · wound · drill · firm · current · chest

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — a video
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. firm — steady
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — of water
  9. chest — a box
  10. last — finally
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. last — final
  14. clip — for paper
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. current — electric
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wound — an injury
  19. last — to go on
  20. firm — decided
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. drill — army training
  23. wound — an injury
  24. firm — a company

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