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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. cold — an illness
  3. net — for catching
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. cold — not warm
  8. net — in sport
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cap — of ice
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. foot — a measure
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. roll — a list
  18. hand — help
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. net — after costs
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. plane — a tool

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