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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cell — in biology
  18. clip — to cut
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. clip — a video
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. plane — an aircraft

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