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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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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: cap · date · file · clip · bass · land · plane · pitcher

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cap — a hat
  3. clip — a video
  4. land — a country
  5. bass — the fish
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cap — of ice
  8. land — to come down
  9. clip — for paper
  10. file — a tool
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. file — a document
  14. plane — a tool
  15. cap — a lid
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. date — the fruit
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. land — ground

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