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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.

Make a worksheet

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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bound — tied together
  6. lean — to bend
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bound — certain
  10. plane — a tool
  11. rock — a stone
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bound — obliged
  15. rock — music
  16. lean — thin
  17. squash — to crush
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. saw — the tool
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. plane — an aircraft

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