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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. roll — a list
  5. plane — a tool
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — an illness
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. craft — a skill
  12. tear — to rip
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — the season
  16. swing — music
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fall — to drop
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. roll — a cake
  23. swing — in golf
  24. chair — a professorship

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