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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. squash — the sport
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. spring — the season
  9. court — of a king
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. land — a country
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. cell — in biology
  16. plane — a tool
  17. court — of law
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. land — ground
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. squash — to crush
  22. land — to come down
  23. court — for sport
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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