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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 116 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: plane · bowl · wind · capital · clip · row · cabinet · prune

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. capital — money
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. clip — a video
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. row — a line
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. capital — a city
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. capital — a big letter

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