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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. plane — a tool
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stand — to bear
  6. degree — from a university
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — an illness
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. cold — not warm
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — temperature
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. pitcher — a jug

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