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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — to cut
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. last — to go on
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. roll — a list
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. last — final
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bore — to tire
  15. plane — a tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. last — finally
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. roll — a cake
  24. bore — to drill

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