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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: bowl · saw · patient · nail · mate · clip · snap · swing

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. swing — in golf
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. mate — a friend
  8. clip — a video
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. clip — for paper
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. swing — to play on
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. snap — to click
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. swing — music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — a partner
  24. saw — the tool

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