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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. season — in sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — finally
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fork — in a road
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. plane — a tool
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — an injury
  19. season — of the year
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — final
  22. last — to go on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fork — to eat with

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