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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. plane — a tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. clip — to cut
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. clip — for paper
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. clip — a video
  19. squash — to crush
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wax — to grow
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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