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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: cap · clip · plane · stick · saw · game · shower · file

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. clip — for paper
  5. file — a line of people
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cap — of ice
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cap — a hat
  13. clip — to cut
  14. cap — a lid
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. clip — a video
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. file — a document
  19. game — a match
  20. file — a tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. shower — rain

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