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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — an amount
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bank — of a river
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. plane — a tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. chest — a box
  21. bank — for money
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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