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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: dip · last · perch · clip · plane · field · wake · pound

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. last — finally
  5. clip — a video
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. wake — a trail
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. last — to go on
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. last — final
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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