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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. game — wild animals
  2. season — of the year
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. race — humankind
  5. season — in sport
  6. plane — a tool
  7. game — a match
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rock — music
  12. race — a contest
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — a stone
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  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