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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. plane — a tool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pit — a hole
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man

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