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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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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: plane · net · cold · mate · last · hide · chip · shower

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. net — for catching
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. chip — for betting
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chip — to eat
  15. net — in sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. last — to go on
  18. plane — a tool
  19. mate — a partner
  20. last — final
  21. net — after costs
  22. mate — to breed
  23. mate — a friend
  24. hide — to keep secret

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