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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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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: rush · clip · mark · tear · plane · net · rest · sharp

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mark — a grade
  5. net — for catching
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — after costs
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rest — a break
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mark — a trace
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. tear — to rip
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. clip — a video
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — in sport
  22. sharp — clever
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. plane — a tool

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