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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: plane · sharp · wind · cold · present · cap · kid · track

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. track — a song
  4. track — to keep track
  5. plane — a tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cap — a lid
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — there
  10. cap — of ice
  11. present — a gift
  12. cap — a hat
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. track — a path
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — to tease
  23. sharp — clever
  24. kid — child

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