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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 geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. mate — to breed
  8. shower — rain
  9. plane — a tool
  10. sharp — clever
  11. shower — to wash
  12. clip — to cut
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wound — an injury
  15. field — a subject
  16. mate — a partner
  17. field — for sport
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. field — farmland

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