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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. charge — a price
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — a lid
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. march — music
  8. charge — electricity
  9. roll — a list
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hand — in cards
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a cake
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wind — moving air
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. charge — in control
  18. march — the month
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wound — an injury

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