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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
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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: clip · ground · spell · hand · season · wind · arm · plane

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wind — moving air
  5. clip — to cut
  6. plane — a tool
  7. season — in sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. spell — letters
  10. season — of the year
  11. hand — help
  12. ground — crushed
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spell — a short time
  15. ground — the earth
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. spell — magic
  19. clip — for paper
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — a video
  24. arm — part of the body

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