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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hand — in cards
  5. stock — shares
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. plane — a tool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hand — help
  18. stock — goods
  19. cell — in biology
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cell — a phone

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