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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. kick — in football
  6. clip — to cut
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rash — a series
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — a video
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wake — a trail
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cabinet — ministers

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