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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 116 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. plane — a tool
  3. ground — a position
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. cap — a hat
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. spring — the season
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. cap — a lid
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bear — the animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bear — the animal
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ground — crushed
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spring — of water

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