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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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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. craft — boats
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. plane — a tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. can — a tin
  12. craft — a skill
  13. pitch — completely
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. swing — music
  19. can — to be able to
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. can — a tin
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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