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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cap — a lid
  3. drill — the tool
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. snap — to click
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — of ice
  8. race — the arms race
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mate — a partner
  11. race — humankind
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. race — a contest
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. plane — a tool
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mate — to breed
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. mate — a friend
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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