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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mark — a trace
  3. clip — to cut
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pound — a weight
  8. face — to confront
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. clip — a video
  12. plane — a tool
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mark — a grade
  21. pop — music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pop — soda

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