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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. rash — hasty
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. branch — a division
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. rash — a series
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — for sport
  16. clip — a video
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — to cut
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pitch — completely
  21. field — farmland
  22. tube — the underground
  23. field — a subject
  24. tube — a container

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