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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. chest — of your body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. plane — a tool
  6. rash — a series
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chest — of your body
  10. clip — a video
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. chest — a box
  16. clip — to cut
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bank — of a river
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — for money
  24. mate — a partner

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