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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: wound · safe · date · straw · plane · cold · perch · pass

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. perch — the fish
  10. pass — a permit
  11. plane — a tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. date — the fruit
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. date — on the calendar

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