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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.

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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. club — a group
  4. pop — to visit
  5. last — to go on
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. hand — in cards
  8. branch — a division
  9. club — for golf
  10. last — finally
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. club — for dancing
  15. net — in sport
  16. pop — music
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. net — after costs
  19. plane — a tool
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. net — for catching
  22. saw — the tool
  23. pop — soda
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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