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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.

Make a worksheet

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: file · last · fine · land · lash · plane · straw · clip

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. fine — high quality
  3. land — a country
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. clip — for paper
  7. last — final
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. clip — a video
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. file — a line of people
  16. clip — to cut
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. fine — all right
  20. file — a document
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. file — a tool
  24. straw — dry grass

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