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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mark — a grade
  6. last — final
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. pound — a weight
  11. club — for golf
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. clip — for paper
  17. club — for dancing
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. club — a group
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. plane — a tool

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