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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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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 · clip · drill · dip · bowl · staff · race · snap

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. staff — a stick
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. dip — to sink
  7. clip — to cut
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. race — the arms race
  12. drill — the tool
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. staff — employees
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — for paper
  18. snap — to click
  19. race — a contest
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. clip — a video
  22. drill — army training
  23. staff — employees
  24. dip — a sauce

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