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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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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: clip · shower · board · face · plane · last · roll · stem

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. clip — to cut
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — rain
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. last — final
  8. shower — to wash
  9. stem — to come from
  10. board — a committee
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. last — to go on
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. clip — a video
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. board — to get on
  20. clip — for paper
  21. face — to confront
  22. plane — a tool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. plane — in geometry

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