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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cold — not warm
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. mate — to breed
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — from crying
  7. face — part of the head
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — to point toward
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. face — to confront
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. row — a line
  17. tear — to rip
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. plane — a tool

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