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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pound — a weight
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — of law
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. court — for sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. plane — a tool
  15. last — finally
  16. bat — the animal
  17. court — of a king
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. drill — army training
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. drill — a practice

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