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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. court — for sport
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. wound — an injury
  5. net — for catching
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — to protest
  8. plane — a tool
  9. object — an aim
  10. court — of law
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. cold — not warm
  13. net — after costs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. court — of a king
  16. net — in sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War

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