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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 120 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. cue — a hint
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. plane — a tool
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pop — to visit
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cue — a signal
  14. pop — music
  15. tube — the underground
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mine — for digging
  18. cue — for pool
  19. pop — soda
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. cold — an illness
  24. tube — a container

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