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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 120 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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. saw — the tool
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. chest — of your body
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. chest — a box
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. clip — for paper
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. clip — a video
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. saw — the 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