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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. roll — a list
  4. track — a song
  5. stem — to come from
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mug — a cup
  8. cold — an illness
  9. roll — a cake
  10. can — a tin
  11. track — to keep track
  12. plane — a tool
  13. can — a tin
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mug — a face
  17. drill — the tool
  18. track — a path
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. drill — army training
  22. can — to be able to
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cold — not warm

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