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

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chest — a box
  6. cell — in biology
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. capital — money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cold — not warm
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chest — of your body
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fall — to drop
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fall — the season
  21. cold — an illness
  22. capital — a city
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cell — in a prison

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