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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. row — a line
  3. clip — a video
  4. spring — of water
  5. plane — a tool
  6. court — of a king
  7. stand — to bear
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. court — of law
  15. court — for sport
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. clip — to cut
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. spring — a coil
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. spring — the season
  23. clip — for paper
  24. stand — for spectators

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