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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. plane — a tool
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. pitch — completely
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. ball — a great time
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. rule — a law
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. net — after costs
  16. cold — an illness
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ball — a dance
  20. rule — government
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. net — in sport

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