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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 120 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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. sharp — clever
  3. present — a gift
  4. prune — to trim
  5. present — the time now
  6. clip — for paper
  7. present — there
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — to come from
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. march — the month
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wake — a trail
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. march — music
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. prune — the fruit

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