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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cold — not warm
  7. saw — the tool
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. perch — the fish
  19. saw — the tool
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chest — a box
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cap — a lid

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