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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 124 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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — a face
  5. mug — to rob
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. ground — the earth
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. hand — help
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. plane — a tool
  13. object — an aim
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ground — crushed
  20. mate — to breed
  21. ground — a position
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. leaves — of a tree

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