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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — of water
  8. mug — a cup
  9. clip — a video
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mug — to rob
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bark — to shout
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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