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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — not warm
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. plane — a tool
  12. net — in sport
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. net — for catching
  17. mark — a grade
  18. tube — a container
  19. fall — the season
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wind — moving air

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