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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — the tool
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. plane — a tool
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. fall — to drop
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fall — to drop
  17. game — a match
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. clip — for paper
  20. saw — the tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. fall — the season
  23. clip — to cut
  24. ruler — a monarch

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