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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. can — to be able to
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bark — to shout
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. can — a tin
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pass — a permit
  24. plane — an aircraft

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