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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. plane — a tool
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stem — to come from
  7. object — a thing
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. shower — rain
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. deal — to handle
  21. shower — to wash
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. object — to protest

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