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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. last — final
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. present — a gift
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — finally
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bass — low music
  15. root — the cause
  16. clip — to cut
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. root — of a word
  19. bass — the fish
  20. present — there
  21. clip — a video
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. root — of a plant

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