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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: key · plane · tear · mark · clip · sharp · last · fan

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. tear — from crying
  3. last — final
  4. mark — a trace
  5. sharp — clever
  6. last — finally
  7. key — the most important part
  8. clip — a video
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mark — a grade
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. key — in music
  15. last — to go on
  16. plane — a tool
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. key — for a lock
  22. tear — from crying
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fan — a supporter

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