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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. drill — army training
  11. content — the amount
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rock — music
  17. plane — a tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. content — happy
  21. clip — a video
  22. rock — a stone
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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