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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. season — of the year
  3. clip — a video
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. land — a country
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cell — a phone
  10. key — for a lock
  11. land — to come down
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — in biology
  14. row — a line
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bear — the animal
  17. key — in music
  18. bear — the animal
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. clip — to cut
  22. land — ground
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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