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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rest — what's left
  3. key — in music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mate — a partner
  6. clip — for paper
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. key — for a lock
  11. clip — a video
  12. key — the most important part
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. game — a match
  15. mate — to breed
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. rest — a break
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. mate — a friend
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. clip — to cut
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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