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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. kid — child
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. plane — a tool
  11. band — a ring
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cold — an illness
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. cold — not warm
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. band — a music group

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