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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 124 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. present — the time now
  3. land — ground
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. present — a gift
  6. clip — to cut
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. land — a country
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mate — a partner
  13. present — there
  14. mate — to breed
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. clip — a video
  19. plane — a tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mate — a friend

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