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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: prune · suit · plane · last · bass · clip · rest · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. clip — a video
  4. last — finally
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rest — what's left
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rest — what's left
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. last — final
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. suit — to fit
  17. clip — for paper
  18. suit — in cards
  19. clip — to cut
  20. suit — clothes
  21. last — to go on
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bass — low music
  24. rest — a break

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