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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. key — the most important part
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rash — hasty
  8. saw — the tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. key — for a lock
  12. march — music
  13. rash — a series
  14. key — in music
  15. march — the month
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. march — the month
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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