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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: rest · cold · dip · plane · spell · bass · kid · file

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. file — a document
  3. rest — what's left
  4. spell — magic
  5. bass — low music
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — child
  16. file — a tool
  17. dip — to sink
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rest — what's left
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bass — the fish
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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