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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. present — a gift
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. clip — for paper
  6. present — the time now
  7. clip — a video
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. land — ground
  11. clip — to cut
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. land — a country
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. land — to come down
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. present — there
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. roll — a list
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  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