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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. file — a tool
  3. land — ground
  4. ball — a great time
  5. plane — a tool
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. cold — an illness
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. land — a country
  14. ball — a dance
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. file — a document
  17. land — to come down
  18. file — a line of people
  19. march — music
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. ruler — for measuring

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