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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 water is too ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. can — to be able to
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fall — to drop
  5. root — the cause
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. fall — to drop
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. can — a tin
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. can — a tin
  20. plane — a tool
  21. fall — the season
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lie — to recline

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