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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. can — to be able to
  3. last — finally
  4. pit — in a race
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — for paper
  8. can — a tin
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. band — a music group
  12. pit — a hole
  13. can — a tin
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. clip — a video
  20. deal — to handle
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a ring
  23. plane — a tool
  24. last — final

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