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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. rash — hasty
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. rash — a series
  7. current — of water
  8. chest — of your body
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wound — an injury
  11. current — happening now
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mark — a grade
  18. dip — to sink
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cell — in biology
  21. current — electric
  22. cell — a phone
  23. chest — a box
  24. mark — a trace

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