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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. present — there
  3. saw — the tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cold — an illness
  11. plane — a tool
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. present — a gift
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cold — not warm
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. toast — bread
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. present — the time now
  24. plane — in geometry

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