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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. last — final
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. track — a song
  12. plane — a tool
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. track — a path
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bank — for money
  21. last — finally
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. wound — an injury
  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