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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chest — of your body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — certain
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. sharp — clever
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rush — hurry

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