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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. 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. fan — to cool the air
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. drill — the tool
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wound — an injury
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. prune — to trim
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. game — wild animals
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. 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