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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · rash · cell · pop · game · nail · bowl · foot

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cell — in biology
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. rash — a series
  7. pop — soda
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pop — to visit
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. pop — music
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — a phone
  16. clip — to cut
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. game — wild animals
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. game — a match
  24. rash — hasty

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