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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rash — a series
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cold — not warm
  11. shower — rain
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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