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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chair — a leader
  5. hand — help
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. plane — a tool
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. saw — the tool
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. court — of a king
  24. game — a match

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