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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. lean — thin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. lean — to bend
  6. game — a match
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. cold — an illness
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — not warm
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. plane — a tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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