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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cue — a hint
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. file — a line of people
  5. row — to paddle
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. clip — to cut
  8. row — a line
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. file — a tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. spring — the season
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. spring — of water
  16. plane — a tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. spring — a coil
  19. firm — a company
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. file — a document
  23. firm — decided
  24. clip — for paper

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