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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. staff — a stick
  4. ground — the earth
  5. clip — to cut
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. clip — a video
  9. track — a song
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. drill — the tool
  12. track — a path
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. ground — a position
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. staff — employees
  21. drill — army training
  22. stem — to come from
  23. drill — a practice
  24. staff — employees

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