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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bulb — for light
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bulb — for light
  6. file — a tool
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. chair — a leader
  9. last — finally
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rash — a series
  13. last — to go on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. last — final
  16. plane — a tool
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. file — a document
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — hasty
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bulb — of a plant

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