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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: net · clip · spell · snap · plane · trunk · cap · field

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. clip — a video
  3. cap — a hat
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. plane — a tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cap — of ice
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. spell — letters
  11. clip — for paper
  12. net — for catching
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. spell — a short time
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. field — farmland
  17. cap — a lid
  18. net — in sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. net — after costs
  21. field — a subject
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. field — for sport
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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