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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. hand — help
  3. fine — high quality
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cap — a hat
  7. plane — a tool
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wind — moving air
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. wind — moving air
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fine — all right

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