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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. spring — of water
  10. root — of a word
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. spring — the season
  13. land — a country
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. root — the cause
  16. present — the time now
  17. clip — a video
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. plane — a tool
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. spring — a coil
  23. clip — to cut
  24. root — of a plant

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