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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. shower — rain
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. prune — to trim
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — a tool
  10. hand — help
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cell — in biology
  14. hand — in cards
  15. rash — hasty
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. rash — a series

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