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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 120 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: nail · mine · plane · sharp · bank · tube · bowl · clip

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. bank — for money
  4. sharp — clever
  5. tube — a container
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bank — for money
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — for paper
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. mine — for digging
  22. bank — of a river
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. mine — belonging to me

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