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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. last — final
  5. board — to get on
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a committee
  12. clip — a video
  13. degree — an amount
  14. firm — decided
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. degree — from a university
  19. last — to go on
  20. plane — a tool
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. plane — in geometry

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