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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. spell — magic
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. plane — a tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — not warm
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. staff — employees
  9. swing — in golf
  10. root — of a plant
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spell — a short time
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spell — letters
  17. chip — for betting
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. swing — to play on
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. swing — music
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a word

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