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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 116 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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. face — to point toward
  5. march — music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. face — to confront
  10. drill — the tool
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. march — the month
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pass — a permit
  16. drill — a practice
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — not warm
  19. band — a music group
  20. tube — the underground
  21. drill — army training
  22. tube — a container
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. band — a ring

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