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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: plane · hide · sharp · leaves · clip · straw · arm · game

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. clip — to cut
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. clip — a video
  23. plane — a tool
  24. game — a match

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