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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: plane · pitch · wave · kid · fork · cold · tear · mark

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. tear — to rip
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. mark — a trace
  6. fork — in a road
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mark — a grade
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. tear — from crying
  18. plane — a tool
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. kid — child
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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