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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 116 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. plane — an aircraft
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — letters
  5. plane — a tool
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. can — a tin
  10. spell — magic
  11. can — to be able to
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. can — a tin
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. spell — a short time
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. branch — a division
  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