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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. toast — a drink to someone
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. toast — bread
  4. clip — a video
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. tear — from crying
  9. face — to confront
  10. fork — in a road
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. branch — a division
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. face — to point toward
  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