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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. pop — soda
  5. cold — not warm
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. pass — a permit
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. file — a document
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. file — a line of people
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. hand — help
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — a tool
  19. file — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — in cards

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