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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. squash — to crush
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. plane — a tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. key — the most important part
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. squash — the sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. key — for a lock
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. last — final
  18. last — to go on
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wind — moving air
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. last — finally
  24. key — in music

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