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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. row — a line
  7. capital — a city
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. plane — a tool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — moving air
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wind — moving air

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