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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rush — hurry
  3. shower — rain
  4. spring — a coil
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. spring — the season
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spring — of water
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cold — not warm

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