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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. tube — the underground
  3. clip — to cut
  4. spell — magic
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. toast — bread
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. plane — a tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. spell — letters
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — for paper
  18. spell — a short time
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. fall — the season
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  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