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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. staff — employees
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. band — a music group
  13. pit — a hole
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. lie — to recline
  17. staff — employees
  18. pit — in a race
  19. band — a ring
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. plane — a tool

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