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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. scale — in music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — a video
  7. club — for dancing
  8. row — a line
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. tube — the underground
  11. plane — a tool
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. clip — to cut
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. scale — size or range
  21. tube — a container
  22. club — a group
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. scale — for weighing

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