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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. chip — for betting
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — not warm
  16. dip — to sink
  17. row — a line
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. chip — to eat
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. plane — an aircraft

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