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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mine — for digging
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ruler — for measuring

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