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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. row — a line
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pop — music
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pop — to visit
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. shower — to wash
  9. last — final
  10. pop — soda
  11. cue — a hint
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. last — finally
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cue — a signal
  17. last — to go on
  18. rush — hurry
  19. row — to paddle
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chair — a leader
  23. cue — for pool
  24. shower — rain

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