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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. hand — help
  3. rule — a law
  4. date — the fruit
  5. pound — a weight
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. net — for catching
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. game — wild animals
  13. net — in sport
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. net — after costs
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rule — government
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. plane — a tool
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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