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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. clip — a video
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bank — of a river
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. land — to come down
  12. plane — a tool
  13. land — ground
  14. fall — the season
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bank — for money
  17. land — a country
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bank — for money
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fall — to drop

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