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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 120 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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. pop — soda
  3. cold — an illness
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. plane — a tool
  8. snap — to click
  9. saw — the tool
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. pop — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. band — a music group
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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