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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: lie · jam · plane · row · chip · mate · cold · calf

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. mate — a friend
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mate — a partner
  10. row — a line
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mate — to breed
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chip — for betting
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — not warm
  20. plane — a tool
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. calf — of the leg

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