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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. track — to keep track
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. band — a music group
  5. race — a contest
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. kick — in football
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. track — a path
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. race — the arms race
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pit — in a race
  20. track — a song
  21. band — a ring
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. race — humankind

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