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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. last — final
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. plane — a tool
  8. last — finally
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. land — a country
  11. bound — certain
  12. clip — a video
  13. bound — obliged
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — to go on
  16. clip — for paper
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. land — ground
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bound — tied together

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