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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: wake · rule · clip · march · land · arm · plane · can

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. can — a tin
  4. plane — a tool
  5. rule — a law
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. land — ground
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — a trail
  12. can — a tin
  13. clip — for paper
  14. land — a country
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. march — the month
  17. rule — government
  18. land — to come down
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. can — to be able to
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. clip — a video
  24. plane — in geometry

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