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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 116 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: kid · rock · ground · nail · kick · snap · firm · clip

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. firm — a company
  3. rock — music
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. snap — to click
  7. clip — a video
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. firm — steady
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. ground — the earth
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kick — in football
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rock — a stone
  17. ground — a position
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. clip — to cut
  20. firm — decided
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kid — child
  23. clip — for paper
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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