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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. clip — for paper
  3. board — to get on
  4. tube — a container
  5. row — to paddle
  6. plane — a tool
  7. clip — a video
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. board — a committee
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. clip — to cut
  13. spring — the season
  14. cell — in biology
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. row — a line
  20. spring — a coil
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. spring — of water
  23. mine — for digging
  24. row — a quarrel

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