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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 116 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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. clip — a video
  5. stand — to bear
  6. file — a document
  7. court — of a king
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. spell — magic
  10. court — of law
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. clip — for paper
  13. file — a line of people
  14. clip — to cut
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mine — for digging
  20. spell — a short time
  21. file — a tool
  22. court — for sport
  23. spell — letters
  24. wound — an injury

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