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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.

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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: scale · clip · chest · plane · spring · mate · game · present

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. present — a gift
  9. scale — size or range
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chest — of your body
  17. present — the time now
  18. spring — the season
  19. game — a match
  20. mate — a partner
  21. present — there
  22. game — wild animals
  23. scale — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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