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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 · lie · wound · cold · last · cap · pass · stick

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. lie — to recline
  3. pass — a permit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cap — a hat
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — not warm
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. last — to go on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — in geometry

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