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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. file — a document
  4. plane — a tool
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. file — a tool
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — of a king
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. tear — to rip
  14. court — for sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a cup
  19. ball — a great time
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mug — a face
  22. court — of law
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mine — for digging

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