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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bat — the animal
  4. squash — the sport
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. clip — a video
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. row — a line
  17. clip — to cut
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. scale — in music
  20. plane — a tool
  21. squash — to crush
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bass — low music
  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