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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. clip — for paper
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. perch — the fish
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cold — an illness
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. cold — not warm
  10. track — a path
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. track — to keep track
  13. clip — a video
  14. spell — magic
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. spell — letters
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. track — a song
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spell — a short time
  23. clip — to cut
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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