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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. clip — a video
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. craft — a skill
  10. sharp — clever
  11. plane — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kick — in football
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bound — obliged
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. clip — for paper
  21. land — to come down
  22. craft — boats
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. land — ground

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