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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 120 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 · chair · cold · cue · shower · row · firm · race

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  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. row — a quarrel
  2. race — humankind
  3. firm — decided
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cue — for pool
  6. row — a line
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. chair — a leader
  9. race — a contest
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cue — a hint
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. plane — a tool
  15. firm — steady
  16. shower — rain
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cue — a signal
  20. race — the arms race
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — not warm
  23. firm — a company
  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