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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. last — finally
  7. shower — rain
  8. last — final
  9. file — a document
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bass — the fish
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mug — a face
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — a video
  18. clip — for paper
  19. last — to go on
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bass — low music
  23. shower — to wash
  24. plane — a tool

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