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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. land — to come down
  3. dip — to sink
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. club — for dancing
  8. land — a country
  9. court — for sport
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. court — of a king
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. club — a group
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. club — for golf
  19. court — of law
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. bat — the animal
  23. land — ground
  24. fan — a supporter

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