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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pop — music
  6. rule — government
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. band — a music group
  19. clip — a video
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. band — a ring
  24. rule — a law

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