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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 120 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. club — for golf
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. clip — for paper
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bulb — for light
  10. clip — a video
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. club — a group
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. club — for dancing
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — to cut
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bulb — for light
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. last — finally
  24. plane — a tool

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