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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. game — wild animals
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. shower — to wash
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. game — a match
  15. chest — a box
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. perch — the fish
  22. plane — a tool
  23. kick — in football
  24. bulb — for light

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