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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. last — final
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. last — finally
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — an injury
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. plane — a tool
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — to go on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. game — a match
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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