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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — to cut
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bore — to tire
  11. plane — a tool
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. file — a document
  18. fall — the season
  19. bear — the animal
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bore — to drill
  23. clip — a video
  24. bear — the animal

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