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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. face — to confront
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. face — part of the head
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. row — to paddle
  10. roll — a list
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. cold — an illness
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. cold — not warm
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. mine — for digging
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. foot — a measure
  23. stand — to bear
  24. row — a line

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