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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. craft — a skill
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. face — part of the head
  5. key — for a lock
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — the most important part
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. craft — boats
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. shower — rain
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. face — to point toward
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. key — in music
  21. shower — to wash
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — not warm
  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