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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.

Make a worksheet

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: cabinet · foot · mine · bat · plane · clip · lash · field

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. foot — a measure
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. field — farmland
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. clip — for paper
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — a subject
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. field — for sport
  24. clip — a video

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