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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · spell · plane · last · fork · clip · cap · rule

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cap — a hat
  3. spell — letters
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — the animal
  10. last — to go on
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. last — finally
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. clip — for paper
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. fork — in a road
  17. clip — to cut
  18. rule — a law
  19. last — final
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. plane — a tool
  23. rule — government
  24. spell — a short time

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