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

Word bank: net · fall · cap · chest · cold · toast · lie · plane

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. chest — of your body
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. cap — a hat
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. toast — bread
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. net — in sport
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cap — a lid
  14. plane — a tool
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fall — to drop
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. chest — a box
  21. fall — the season
  22. net — after costs
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. cap — of ice

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