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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. net — for catching
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cold — an illness
  5. net — in sport
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. net — after costs
  8. object — a thing
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rush — hurry
  12. scale — in music
  13. date — the fruit
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. clip — a video
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. date — on the calendar

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