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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 always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. can — a tin
  8. clip — to cut
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. can — a tin
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. clip — a video
  22. plane — a tool
  23. can — to be able to
  24. fall — the season

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