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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fall — to drop
  4. suit — in cards
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. suit — to fit
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bat — the animal
  9. suit — clothes
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. fall — the season
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. snap — to click
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cold — not warm
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. fork — in a road
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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