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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. staff — employees
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — a subject
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wake — a trail
  8. plane — a tool
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. lean — thin
  12. clip — for paper
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. branch — a division
  16. lean — to bend
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. staff — employees
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. band — a music group
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. staff — a stick
  24. band — a ring

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