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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. branch — a division
  3. last — final
  4. plane — a tool
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. clip — a video
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. tube — a container
  13. rash — a series
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fall — to drop
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — for paper
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rash — hasty

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