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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: bat · rest · lie · temple · cap · plane · cold · drill

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. lie — to recline
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. drill — a practice
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bat — the animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cap — a lid
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. drill — army training
  16. rest — a break
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cap — of ice
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — a hat
  24. temple — a place of worship

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