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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: tube · firm · sharp · plane · clip · bark · wake · spring

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spring — of water
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. firm — a company
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. firm — decided
  12. firm — steady
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — to shout
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. tube — a container
  20. spring — the season
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wake — before a funeral

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