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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: track · bowl · plane · last · clip · spring · wind · bark

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. last — finally
  4. spring — of water
  5. clip — a video
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. track — a path
  13. clip — for paper
  14. plane — a tool
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bark — to shout
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. spring — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — final

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