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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rest — what's left
  3. tube — a container
  4. rock — music
  5. game — wild animals
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. game — a match
  10. net — in sport
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. net — for catching
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — part of the head
  17. plane — a tool
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rock — a stone
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. net — after costs
  24. rest — a break

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