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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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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: snap · mine · prune · sharp · march · nail · mark · clip

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. sharp — clever
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. clip — to cut
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. march — music
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — a video
  23. snap — to click
  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