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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — a tool
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mug — a cup
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pit — in a race
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cold — an illness
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mug — a face
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. mug — to rob
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. pit — a hole
  24. plane — an aircraft

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