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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — in football
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bound — tied together
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. court — of a king
  20. clip — a video
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bound — certain
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bound — obliged

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