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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chest — of your body
  5. plane — a tool
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. cap — of ice
  12. spell — letters
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. chest — a box
  17. row — a line
  18. rash — hasty
  19. chest — of your body
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. row — to paddle
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. bay — a horse colour

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