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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cold — not warm
  3. plane — a tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. press — to push
  8. saw — the tool
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — the tool
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — newspapers
  18. clip — a video
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. tube — a container
  24. plane — in geometry

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