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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. spring — the season
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. coach — a trainer

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