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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cell — a phone
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bound — tied together
  5. snap — to click
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. clip — a video
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. bound — certain
  17. bound — obliged
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. cell — in a prison

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