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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. last — to go on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. clip — to cut
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bear — the animal
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. row — a line
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. degree — from a university
  14. plane — a tool
  15. clip — a video
  16. degree — temperature
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. last — final
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bass — low music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — the animal
  24. last — finally

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