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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. clip — to cut
  3. last — finally
  4. scale — size or range
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bass — low music
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. clip — a video
  12. last — final
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. clip — for paper
  16. last — to go on
  17. scale — in music
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. file — a tool
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. file — a document
  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