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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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Word bank
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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. last — final
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. last — to go on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. content — the amount
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cold — an illness
  13. plane — a tool
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fall — the season
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. cold — not warm
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. last — finally
  24. fall — to drop

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