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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · plane · band · pitcher · bore · mouse · present · chest

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bore — to drill
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. present — a gift
  9. chest — of your body
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. band — a ring
  14. present — there
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bore — to tire
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — a box
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. present — the time now

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