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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: clip · squash · fall · plane · wave · fine · file · wake

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. clip — for paper
  3. squash — to crush
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. file — a document
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fall — the season
  18. clip — a video
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. fall — to drop
  22. file — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. fall — to drop

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