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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
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: wound · mate · plane · tube · shower · face · clip · club

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to point toward
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. club — for golf
  8. mate — a partner
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. mate — to breed
  14. shower — to wash
  15. club — for dancing
  16. mate — a friend
  17. clip — for paper
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — a tool
  21. wound — an injury
  22. face — to confront
  23. club — a group
  24. shower — rain

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