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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cap — of ice
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cap — a lid
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rule — a law
  12. pitch — completely
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chest — a box
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rule — government
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cap — a hat
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pitch — a sports field

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