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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: cold · fine · spell · kid · plane · squash · fall · cap

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. squash — to crush
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cap — a hat
  7. spell — letters
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. plane — a tool
  10. kid — child
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — magic
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fine — all right
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cold — an illness
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cap — of ice
  24. fall — the season

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