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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.

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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. clip — for paper
  4. file — a document
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. scale — in music
  8. charge — in control
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — size or range
  11. file — a tool
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spring — of water
  14. plane — a tool
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. charge — a price
  17. file — a line of people
  18. spring — a coil
  19. charge — electricity
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — a video
  24. nail — on a finger

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