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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — hurry
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. firm — a company
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. bound — obliged
  15. firm — decided
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bound — tied together
  21. firm — steady
  22. bound — certain
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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