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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cold — an illness
  4. plane — a tool
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. mate — to breed
  7. march — music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cold — not warm
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. mate — a partner
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. march — the month
  17. kick — in football
  18. staff — employees
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. staff — employees
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. staff — a stick
  24. march — the month

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