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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: scale · clip · spell · land · club · plane · pitch · wind

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. clip — a video
  4. pitch — completely
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. spell — magic
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spell — letters
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. scale — in music
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — ground
  20. wind — moving air
  21. scale — size or range
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wind — to turn a key

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