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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. wound — an injury
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. net — after costs
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. net — for catching
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. perch — the fish
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. hand — in cards
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — in sport
  17. hand — help
  18. perch — for a bird

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