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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. kick — in football
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stock — goods
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. last — finally
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. clip — a video
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stock — shares
  18. last — final
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. last — to go on
  23. bat — the animal
  24. clip — for paper

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