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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 carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. drill — army training
  6. stem — to come from
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. swing — music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pitch — completely

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