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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lean — thin
  5. hand — in cards
  6. object — an aim
  7. dip — to sink
  8. lean — to bend
  9. spring — the season
  10. object — to protest
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. kick — in football
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. object — a thing
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. clip — for paper
  19. hand — help
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. spring — of water
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. dip — a sauce

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