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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 116 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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. hand — help
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pound — a weight
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. plane — a tool
  10. field — a subject
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. scale — in music
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. scale — size or range

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