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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — all right
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. rest — a break
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rest — what's left
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. band — a music group
  13. kid — child
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. band — a ring
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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