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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. court — of a king
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — child
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — for sport
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. kid — to tease
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. craft — a skill
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. court — of law
  20. craft — boats
  21. wind — moving air
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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