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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wind · plane · face · fan · file · date · pass · clip

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. date — the fruit
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. plane — a tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. face — to point toward
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. clip — for paper
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. clip — to cut
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. face — to confront
  18. clip — a video
  19. file — a document
  20. wind — moving air
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. pass — a permit
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. wind — moving air

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