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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. plane — a tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitch — completely
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cold — not warm
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. dip — to sink
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. sharp — clever
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. shower — rain
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. rock — music
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. shower — to wash
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cold — an illness

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