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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pass — a permit
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mine — for digging
  9. cold — an illness
  10. spell — a short time
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. board — a committee
  17. spell — letters
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. spell — magic
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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