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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: clip · mark · saw · nail · rule · wound · cold · fork

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mark — a trace
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. clip — to cut
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. rule — government
  15. clip — a video
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wound — an injury
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mark — a grade
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rule — a law

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