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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spring — of water
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. club — for golf
  8. cap — of ice
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. cap — a lid
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. club — a group
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spring — a coil
  15. club — for dancing
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. season — of the year
  18. cold — an illness
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. season — in sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. spring — the season
  24. straw — a straw man

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