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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — a tool
  13. game — a match
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. game — wild animals
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. dip — a sauce

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