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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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. last — final
  5. shower — rain
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. last — to go on
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. shower — to wash
  11. last — finally
  12. field — a subject
  13. fine — all right
  14. scale — in music
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. field — for sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. fine — high quality
  21. scale — size or range
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. field — farmland

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