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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 116 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — not warm
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. lean — thin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. plane — a tool
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pound — to hit hard

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