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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: cold · wake · season · race · drill · saw · court · plane

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. plane — a tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. drill — army training
  9. court — for sport
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. saw — the tool
  14. race — a contest
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. court — of a king
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. race — the arms race
  24. season — in sport

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