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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: saw · plane · wake · court · clip · fall · bay · swing

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. clip — to cut
  7. swing — music
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. court — of a king
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. saw — the tool
  17. plane — a tool
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. fall — to drop
  20. clip — a video
  21. fall — the season
  22. court — of law
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. court — for sport

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