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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: field · race · spring · clip · plane · prune · bowl · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. clip — for paper
  4. field — farmland
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. clip — a video
  7. spring — a coil
  8. plane — a tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. race — humankind
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spring — the season
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. race — the arms race
  17. field — a subject
  18. clip — to cut
  19. spring — of water
  20. field — for sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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