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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. clip — a video
  4. shower — rain
  5. clip — to cut
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bark — to shout
  9. roll — a cake
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. file — a document
  12. roll — a list
  13. plane — a tool
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. shower — to wash
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — for paper
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rock — music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. rock — to move gently

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