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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: sharp · club · object · mark · clip · prune · nail · hand

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. object — to protest
  3. club — a group
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mark — a trace
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. object — an aim
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mark — a grade
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. club — for dancing
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. hand — help
  19. club — for golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — to cut
  23. prune — to trim
  24. object — a thing

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