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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. clip — a video
  3. prune — to trim
  4. clip — to cut
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. degree — temperature
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. degree — an amount
  17. file — a document
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. file — a line of people
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kid — child
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — to tease

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