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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. cold — not warm
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. cold — an illness
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. plane — a tool
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. cue — for pool
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cue — a hint
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cue — a signal
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a face
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. branch — a division

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