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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stand — to bear
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. shower — rain
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. sharp — clever
  19. shower — to wash
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. calf — of the leg

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