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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. pop — music
  2. bat — the animal
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pop — to visit
  6. clip — for paper
  7. tube — the underground
  8. foot — a measure
  9. plane — a tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. pop — soda
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tube — a container
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wind — moving air
  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