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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. plane — a tool
  3. hand — help
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cap — of ice
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. band — a ring
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. craft — boats
  13. tube — a container
  14. toast — bread
  15. cap — a hat
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. craft — a skill
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. cap — a lid
  23. hand — in cards
  24. tube — the underground

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