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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: root · pit · saw · plane · cue · mine · stand · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mine — for digging
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. cue — a signal
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cue — a hint
  12. root — the cause
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pit — a hole
  15. saw — the tool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cue — for pool
  22. plane — a tool
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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