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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 120 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: plane · deal · mouse · racket · present · saw · clip · cold

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. plane — a tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. deal — to handle
  6. present — the time now
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. clip — a video
  16. cold — not warm
  17. clip — for paper
  18. present — a gift
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. saw — the tool
  23. present — there
  24. clip — to cut

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