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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. file — a line of people
  5. clip — a video
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. board — a committee
  10. degree — an amount
  11. file — a tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. board — to get on
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rash — hasty
  17. file — a document
  18. plane — a tool
  19. degree — from a university
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. degree — temperature
  24. plane — in geometry

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