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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. fine — all right
  3. march — the month
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wound — an injury
  9. root — of a word
  10. row — a line
  11. ball — a dance
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — the month
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fine — high quality
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. march — music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. root — the cause
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fine — a penalty

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