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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pop — soda
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. charge — in control
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pop — to visit
  12. march — music
  13. wake — a trail
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. pop — music
  16. charge — electricity
  17. charge — a price
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wound — an injury
  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