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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: straw · last · plane · coach · lie · wound · row · cap

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. row — to paddle
  11. last — to go on
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. plane — a tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. last — finally
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wound — an injury
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cap — of ice
  23. row — a line
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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