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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. last — final
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. game — a match
  9. rash — a series
  10. chest — a box
  11. last — to go on
  12. game — wild animals
  13. plane — a tool
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. last — finally
  18. chest — of your body

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