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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fall — the season
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a music group
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fall — to drop
  11. plane — a tool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cue — a hint
  16. band — a ring
  17. rash — a series
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cue — for pool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bat — the animal
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fall — to drop

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