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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · cell · firm · bowl · cold · clip

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. clip — a video
  3. cold — not warm
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. clip — to cut
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — decided
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — a tool
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cell — in biology
  14. firm — steady
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bowl — a football 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