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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. plane — a tool
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. clip — to cut
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wind — moving air
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. fine — high quality
  15. lean — thin
  16. file — a line of people
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fine — all right
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — a video
  24. lean — to bend

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