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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. present — the time now
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. present — a gift
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. rush — hurry
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — a tool
  19. tube — the underground
  20. present — there
  21. tube — a container
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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