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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: sharp · file · last · plane · cell · band · lean · clip

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. band — a music group
  3. sharp — clever
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. cell — in biology
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. clip — for paper
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. plane — a tool
  11. last — finally
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — a phone
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. lean — to bend
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. lean — thin
  21. file — a tool
  22. last — final
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. file — a document

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