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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. ball — a dance
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. clip — a video
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mark — a trace
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cold — not warm
  16. clip — for paper
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. clip — to cut
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mark — a grade
  24. plane — in geometry

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