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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. mate — to breed
  3. clip — for paper
  4. lean — thin
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. lean — to bend
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. clip — to cut
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. clip — a video
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. band — a ring
  22. mate — a partner
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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