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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. roll — a cake
  3. last — finally
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. date — the fruit
  9. roll — a list
  10. tube — the underground
  11. last — final
  12. game — a match
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. last — to go on
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. tube — a container
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. lash — an eyelash

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