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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: mate · key · hand · land · plane · shower · cold · mouse

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — a country
  4. key — the most important part
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — to breed
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. key — for a lock
  11. shower — to wash
  12. hand — help
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. shower — rain
  19. land — to come down
  20. key — in music
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. land — ground
  23. hand — in cards
  24. plane — a tool

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