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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: tube · fork · sharp · last · stem · plane · stick · clip

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. sharp — clever
  4. tube — a container
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. plane — a tool
  8. last — finally
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fork — in a road
  12. clip — a video
  13. last — to go on
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. last — final
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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