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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 120 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. spell — letters
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — in cards
  7. plane — a tool
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. spell — a short time
  11. clip — a video
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. snap — to click
  14. clip — to cut
  15. land — to come down
  16. band — a music group
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. land — a country
  19. hand — help
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. spell — magic
  23. land — ground
  24. band — a rubber band

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