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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: plane · root · object · straw · swing · clip · row · toast

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. object — to protest
  8. clip — to cut
  9. row — to paddle
  10. object — a thing
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. swing — music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. object — an aim
  16. clip — a video
  17. root — the cause
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. row — a line
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. swing — in golf
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. plane — a tool

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