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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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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: lie · tube · plane · snap · shower · clip · bat · tear

  1. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. plane — in geometry
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lie — to recline
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tube — the underground
  8. shower — rain
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. clip — a video
  11. snap — to click
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tear — to rip
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bat — the animal
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. tube — a container
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  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