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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. plane — a tool
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rule — government
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. clip — for paper
  14. kid — child
  15. spring — the season
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wake — a trail
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — to tease
  22. spring — of water
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rule — a law

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