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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. ground — a position
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. field — for sport
  9. ground — the earth
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. field — farmland
  16. tube — the underground
  17. ground — crushed
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. field — a subject
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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