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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. court — of law
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. spell — letters
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. craft — a skill
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. file — a line of people
  13. court — of a king
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. spell — a short time
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. capital — a city
  18. spell — magic
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. court — for sport
  24. craft — a handicraft

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