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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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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: bowl · plane · snap · ruler · trunk · clip · chair · file

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. file — a tool
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — a video
  13. chair — a leader
  14. file — a line of people
  15. snap — to click
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. plane — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. clip — for paper
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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