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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wound — an injury
  6. last — finally
  7. rash — a series
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — a division
  12. rash — hasty
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. plane — a tool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. last — to go on
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. last — final
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. plane — an aircraft

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