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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. drill — a practice
  4. toast — bread
  5. drill — the tool
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wind — moving air
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kid — child
  16. net — in sport
  17. kid — to tease
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. net — for catching
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. drill — army training
  22. wind — moving air
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. net — after costs

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