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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cold — not warm
  6. plane — a tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mark — a grade
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. mate — a friend
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. mate — a partner
  14. shower — to wash
  15. can — a tin
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. mate — to breed
  20. can — a tin
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. mark — a trace
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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